Lylat Chronicles Vol 1: The Polawski Ruse
by Arimadios
Summary: Krystal, Wolf, and Fox. Outcasts, Villans, and Heros. In a universe where the Anglars never existed, what plays out when politics, war, and one sociopath lizard begin to play a deadly game centered around Krystal's Magic, and the flowers that power it? Renamed, Rewrite in progress. WARNING: Contains Graphic Content. (Note: This story is being rewritten.)
1. Prologue: A Storm of Discontent

**Author's Note:** I have written, rewritten and re-rewritten. I have styled, restyled, and re-restyled. I have basically worked on this story as a labor of love and imagination because I feel driven to finish it. However, I am determined not to tell a sub-par story. This will be the only warning. There is gore. There is extremely graphic violence. There will be sex. There will be cursing, spitting and general bad behavior. This story explores angst, and the inner workings of character minds. It explores politics of various systems, and it explores a blending of mysticism and science. Basically, my friends, I have tried to include it all. I hope to present a mature, fulfilling story, rife with humor, action and satisfying plot.

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**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN STAR FOX, OR ANY OTHER GAMES, SONGS, MOVIES, OR BOOKS REFERENCED HEREIN. BRAND NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT MY POCKET BOOK. CONSIDER YOURSELF DISCLAIMED.  
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**Codex Entry: Lylat: Planets: Venom:** Venom is a hostile, nearly inhospitable world. It's atmospheric conditions are considered acidic at best, and catastrophic at worst. It is the farthest planet from the star Solar located inside the Greater Wall belt, an as so far explored, impenetrable, ancient 'Maginot Line' of weaponized Asteroids. It's atmosphere is thin and filled with a caustic mix of sulfur, methane, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of xenon, argon, and oxygen. Life on Venom is enabled thanks to advanced bio-domes and a massive, planet wide terra-forming effort.

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Planet : Venom

Date : 2165 Cornerian Standard Year, 3rd January, 9:00 SST

James Tiber Oxian sighed as he swirled the whiskey about in his glass, the fine aroma lifting into his nostrils and beginning the process of intoxication. Such a rich, dark amber color, with such a high, mighty sensation that followed it. Whiskey. Truly the king of liqueurs. And honestly, it was quite terrible at making one forget.

He swirled the liquid as his god-daughter, a fact he never hid from her, walked into the den of the small homestead. She tapped a few buttons to seal the house against the approaching methane blizzard. She stripped her mask and exhaled lightly, and he shook his head, admonishing himself once again. "Fara, you have got to learn to tone down the charm." Even on a planet that was being terraformed, Lylan women always found ways to be sexy.

"Ah hell, J.T."

"Language." He tossed a small pillow at her. She laughed. "You know as well as I do you overdo it. Anyway. What'd you get for the surplus?" She had gone out to trade some of their product for other essentials - being such a harsh place in an otherwise mostly civilized system, Venom was uniquely suited to a plethora of barter stops and backroom dealings.

He looked at the gauges in the rustic wooden box nearby – It was an expensive piece, but, the artistry of the gauge box was what made it worth it. Just because Agriculture in Lylat was so damn advanced didn't mean you couldn't live in a log cabin. Plus, it kept people away – and people kept away didn't ask hard questions.

"Well, I got us some fish – fresh stuff too. Still got non-methylated ice clinging to them."

J.T. damn near jumped out of his easy chair, whiskey long forgotten. He looked into the brown paper wrapped package with utter glee. Like many Lylans, he was against the use of Feral Stock for edible protein. Fish, however, was universally agreed upon. Fish, Fish eggs, Fish-made-any-way-you-want-it and other fish byproducts saved Feral Lives. He never understood how his old team had eaten... Cow. He shuddered at the sheer joy of it. "Oh... Zoness Flounder?"

"No... Aquan Tilapia." Fara grinned wickedly. "I put the rest in cold-stock. We have 19 more."

"For soy-based Kibble?!" He looked at his daughter. She was a real trader baron when she wished to be.

"No. For the corn based kibble I traded to old man Ruthers. Soy base sells better to his contacts. Always will – he does business with the Macbethians, and soy allergies are far lower on Macbeth than corn." She grinned. "But corn base makes great trading funds with anything near the inner planets."

"With Cornerian corn -"

"They shut down the last processing plant this year. Now it's allllll organic home-grown stuff." She grinned. "And our EC greenhouses pump out shiploads of soy. We could switch to corn with half the crop and live like a senator!" She shook out her hair and went to the kitchen, fish in her elbow with a grin. "Come on dad. Let's live a little – Pan seared?" The thought of food was put aside as he imagined it, living in a giant mansion on some cozy inner planet, hundreds of servants, and an ocean of the finest whiskey, women, and cigars... and the grumble of his stomach forced him to turn his attention to the ravenous animal located south of his diaphragm but north of the other ravenous and quite starved beast he battled with.

"With Katinan Spices?" The tastes of that dust ball of a planet, so biting and warm, succulent and just a tad bit greasey... That was the taste of home to him. The meer thought of his familiar favorites sizzling in a skillet with oodles of delicious fishy flakes of a delicate and refined taste that ignited the senses and soothed any other worries...

"You know it." Fara could see that look in his eyes - J.T. would soon be remembering his first family, one taken from him by evil, and the other by good, but still taken. He always got like that whenever she cooked Katinan. Then again, her father died for that man, the broken son of a bitch with the bad back and eagle sharp eyes. Her heart broke for him, every night, but she had no choice. If she wanted revenge... and a future, she had to stick it out. And maybe, just maybe, get him laid before he started thinking her cooking was better than sex.

"I swear, If you were older and not my daughter, I'd marry you." He said, unthinking. "That came out very wrong." he said, sighing. "I just meant you're an amazing woman and I'd love to meet a woman like you and - damnit. I did it again. Uhm..." The warring forces of being a thirty-something who was old but not dead and a very hungry thirty something with a woman who was about to cook for him in the house sent his brain into a haywire spiral as he tried to talk his way out of his verbal faux-pax. "OKAY. You're a good cook and a great looking woman, and I'm ... uh... not jealous, uhm... ah! Happy! Happy for the guy that finally beds you. Wait. Damn it. I'm just gonna shut the hell up now." He smashed his forehead into his palm and ground it into his skull.

"I know. Ain't it a shame." She sighed. He was an idiot, in a way. One of those guys. _Sexy because he's broken_ and all, but that only gets him so far. His mouth could put him in more trouble than his job did - and his job had resulted in more than a few times Fara herself being shot at, and she was certain on at least two occasions, killing a man or woman who was shooting back. "You really need to work on that awkward thing."

"Vixy thought it was cute..." J.T. said, and then turned back to his chair. He eased back into it, and sat, his eyes downcast. The whiskey found it's way into his hand as he rested his arm long on the arm rest of the chair, and idly swung the glass, swirling the dark amber liquid, the pungent aroma of cut oak and burnt wood released into the air as a long slow motion brought it to his muzzle, lips pursing over the edge, and a slight tip of the glass pouring it along a tongue made straw into his cheeks, the slow stinging burn of the liquid reminding him of nothing more than his continued existence in a cold, dark, lightless existence of pure burning depression, in which his only solace was the endlessness of the depths of depravity which he expunged from mortal hearts with extreme prejudice, thanks to military training and a strong, deep draw of whiskey. The two doses of _fucitol_ he took in the morning every time he opened his eyes to see that infuriatingly beautiful picture didn't help either.

As he sat, however, the voice in the back of his head, the one that Lylans all shared, that of his instincts, or conciense or whatever one called it, soothed his burning hurt heart with a gentle reminder. _One of them is still alive. The other will be avenged. Every job you do saves more people like the both of them._ He sighed, and took another drink from his whiskey as he lit a cigar, the ocher smoke rising from it as it sat, smoldering on the arm of his chair a pungent, nutty smell with a hint of acrid flavor under it, signifying it's strong, health-depriving attributes and wonderfully mind numbing properties framed his face as he pulled it up, resting it behind his elongated canines, lifting the side of his lips called the jowls around the stubby base.

_You're always so melodramatic when you think about being a soldier turned mercenary turned spy. _He laughed. His inner voice always knew just what to say to fuck up his brooding depressions. As his eyes drifted closed, he smelled a far away world. He saw a beautiful red fox with a single thin white race leading into her forehead where a widow's peak lead into curly red hair the precise color of the sky at a katinian sunset, the brilliant orange framing sharp, piercing green eyes. The empty glass in his hand hit the table as the explosion behind her blew her flesh off and left him staring at a skull and mangled body parts lying beside a nice sportster hover car with the tatters of her pale green sundress whipping in the wind from the heat of the fire. Whiskey really sucked at making you forget. He was going to stare at the horrible memory until he ate dinner, and he would know, until the day he died.

He was responsible.

* * *

One week later...

Life goes on. It always does. J.T. And Fara lived a simple existence, using an extremely dumb AI (Basically, a mechanical alarm clock.) to keep the plants watered. He sat down on his easy chair again, after the last batch of reports filed. He checked the AI – All green. The Hydroponics in the farm's greenhouse were a okay. He lit a cigar – Rich, full, nutty taste, spice burn at the end, Finished with a zesty kick. He opened his bottle of bourbon whiskey. He poured himself half a glass. He took a draw from his Churchling length cigar. (**A/N**: Churchling is a play on words refering to Churchill.)

He was content. His glass was half full, he mused. He heard his wrist beep. He glanced at it as he flicked ashes. "Agent Red..." He muttered. His second in command wouldn't call at this hour unless shit hit the fan. "Fara..." he called.

"Yehsh?" She called, a set of noodles still hanging from her jaws as she leaned back from the kitchen door in her chair, her eyes just briefly tearing away from her soap operas she had recorded as they had worked the week away.

"Put that on head set mode." he said quickly. She never questioned when he said these things. For good reason. She knew – kind of – what her godfather did for a day job. Espionage. Sabotage. Spy work.

Wet Work.

She popped the headsets in, and went back to her contented moments.

He swallowed some whiskey, jammed the cigar in his muzzle, and flicked his wrist. His communicator helmet popped open. It wasn't the same modle he had gifted his son, and it's quick, quiet clatter of it re-arranging it's form from a small white box at the base of his skull into a three pronged skull cap with a microphone by the back corner of his muzzle at the crease of his lips and a small blue light on his forehead that displayed a holographic face, while giving him the comforting weight he was used to, was still far less than his original model. "Red?"

"Black, there's incoming com traffic – A Zoness industrialist. It's a she, apparently. Who's this going to be? We weren't scheduled for any incoming squads, and - "

"Zoness has it's own spy forces. This could be someone else – Just a normal civi trying to help the peaceful resolution crowd. Oh... wait. Incoming transmission."

The Unknown ID popped up, and quickly went from unknown to 'Marie Kusaru, Galactic Exploits' – He knew the company. Huge black jobs contractors. Mercenaries? He quickly answered it as he drew on his cigar. "Yes Ma'am? What can thi-"

"Cut the crap, McCloud." Her Feline face was almost jaguarian, but the calico spot of her eye and the white rash of muzzle fur gracing her chin set her apart as not pure-blood. Rash, ambitious, and, in his opinion, probably the best kind of Lylan one could meet. He instantly disliked her, for all the right reasons. And he also respected her. She had some big ass ovaries.

"Shut your mouth. Do not EVER say that name on Venom." He hadn't reeled back or flinched. It wasn't the first time some young pup tried to use the name of his first family to shock or stir him to action. The haunting image of his son holding his dead mother's skull in shock and horror had rendered him immune to such trivial tactics.

"It's the only way to get you to listen. Andross just purchased quite a few eclectic items – Including several magnetic draw systems produced by Arspace Industries through a reseller on Zoness. But that's not what we're worried about. We know he's producing several Advanced Aerospace Fighter-bombers with Interplanetary capabilities. We're worried about these..." She pulled up a schematic – hard copies. "No pictures. We need to meet face to face. I work with Section 9."

James thought hard on that. Section 9 was an extra planetary crime investigation unit, that specialized in Special Tactics and Rescue. Basically, a system wide SWAT team that didn't respect any laws – because they couldn't afford to. If Section 9 was working towards Andross' fall, hostilities were on the brink of full scale war. "That looks like a Neural Uplink. He's already set up a planet wide array of radio towers and made a very strange underground base that I can't even get nano-bugs into."

"It is. It's a very powerful one. These are the plans from Ghost Base." Marie looked at the old fox with a deathly serious expression.

James stopped cold. The last time anything left Ghost Base, Timothy Phoenix had died in a suicide run on Andross' experimental "Apparoid Attraction Apparatus" that had successfully called in One of the damn creatures. This one had been deactivated and examined by Venomian forces. It had only taken one Apparoid to total three quarters of the Cornerian fleet, J.T. presumed it had come to find it's brother. Almost two million lives, to kill one of those things. And if Andross was trying to control them...

"I'm in. Where are you landing?"

"Farqo City Spaceport. Two hours."

"That's two hours from here, and it's a damn blizzard tonight!"

"Then you better run." She deactivated the call. Agent Red had hung up.

He retracted his communicator helmet and cursed. "FUCK."

"Language, J.T."

"Not J.T. Tonight. I'm Tiber tonight. I have to get ready. Methane blizzard... Possible combat actions..." He sighed. "I need my good armor and weapons." Methane blizzards were a hazard of living on the remains of a, if the scientists were right, terraformed gas giant.

She nodded, and fished out the re-breather and heavy enviro coat. She handed them to him. "In the barn, as always, J.T." She sighed. She knew him as J.T. But never by his last name, or anything else. Not even his Venomian Callsign. She watched him quickly suit up and activate the plasma containing atmospheric regulation woven into the coat. He looked like his fur stood on end as he walked into the rustic wood looking air lock – Which opened in an incredibly mechanical, advanced way. She shook her head. The old man confused her to no end. He liked things to look old but act modern. Weird old ding-bat.

The bitter cold outside bit into his fur, even through the snow shield the plasma field proved to be. He quickly ran the hundred yards to the Barn, jumping into the air lock and hitting the button. His Coat flashed red warning lights quickly, then hissed as it booted down. "Damn. This thing is really getting to be shit... or the weather is." He sighed. He rapidly tapped some buttons, and a door opened up below him. He quickly jogged down the steps.

The Pictures above the far desk showed lizards, monkeys, and not a few canines. All of Andross' primary supporters. He sighed as he looked. He didn't have names, only pictures. Searching for any of them would tip people off. He couldn't afford that. There were a few he DID recognize though.

Ursa Saragossa – Slaver and Pirate. He ran several huge space stations in Meteo. And his power was declining, thanks to new Pirate Hunting techniques developed by General Pepper.

Grigori... A Chameleon who's last name he didn't know. Mob connections, and a mean streak. Wet work specialist. Total bastard. Unforgivable motherfucker, really, if his reports were accurate.

And of course, Andross. He growled, and squeezed his hands hard, but quickly sighed. If he couldn't beat Andross in an Arwing... He wasn't going to beat him on the ground. He Screamed as he raked the desk off, and punched it, instantly recoiling and grabbing his hand. "Damnit!" he shouted, and sighed. Bones in his hand gave him and angry hum as his knuckles began to pulse and throb, a combination of old age, anger, and maybe a sip too much whiskey.

"No time to stuff your tail up your ass, shitface." He shook his head vigorously. He opened up a nearby locker. Inside was contained a highly speculative prototype armor suit. He grunted pulling it out of the locker. He huffed as he set it down. "You're kidding me. Do I... yeah. Yeah, I do." He shook his head. "Stupid to think I wouldn't. Never was good at this infantry crap."

He pulled on the breast plate, and began to suit up. The suit hissed as it settled into place. Slim black lines appeared, then he pulled on the helmet as they formed in the joints. The system booted. "Activate Environmental condition red. Venomian Methane Blizzard."

It beeped in response, and a heat monitor appeared. He nodded. He quickly walked, for though the suit was bulky, it remained flexible, to his car. It was a two seater super sport model with anti-grav boosters.

It was basically a damn bullet. His weight with the suit, however, caused it to rock as he entered. He sighed. "Forgot my damn guns..." he muttered, hauling himself out of the car. "Never would have made that mistake three years ago..." He sighed, and closed his eyes for a minute.

* * *

_A park in a field inside a giant metropolis. His son, Fox, his Wife, Vixy, his blood-brother's son feral son, Cole. Fox played in the sand box as he sat beside Vixy, running a hand through her bob cut. Curly red hair tangled his hand in it's ringlets. Her tail swished with pleasure. He looked to his son as he built a sand castle, a young, feral wolf barking playfully, and pawing at the sand nearby, trying to emulate his friend. The poor kid, Cole, would never know how to do what Fox did. But he would understand it. He sighed. "Vixy, Why do things like this happen to good kids like Cole?"_

_She turned to him, and smiled. "Because we don't need the technology. We only need each other. Cole is faithful. You think he will ever forget his friends or family? Never. The Goddess made the Ferals, just as much as she made us. Just because they're different... doesn't mean they're worse."_

"_They're all purebloods..." he muttered. She smiled. "That's the risk of loving people who are the most like you. It's why opposites attract, darling." She shook her head. "But, Our child, Fox... He's smart. He's fast. And He's sharp. That's the benefit. Better than average children – Or ones who have gone to the Goddess' Service."_

_He nodded. He held her close, smiling, looking at his young son. He didn't know, but this was his last moment of happiness with his wife... and son. "I have to go. You'll get Cole back over to Shiva's?"_

"_Yes, Dear. Be SAFE, my love." He smiled._

"_Always, Heart of my Life." He kissed her gently, and stood, Joining J.W. "Ready to go, Old Dog?"_

"_I was wondering when you'd stop with the sappy shit." He said, grinning as he jostled his blood-brother as they piled into his car. James stopped. "Wait, just a tick."_

"_Hey, Vixy! Take your car home, Okay? Take a cab to come pick mine up."_

"_Alright love!"_

_He stepped into the car, and smiled. "I love my family."_

"_And I love my Pack." J.W. Responded as he pulled his black shades down with a Grin. "You know... If we make it out alive from all this... Maybe I'll buy you a pair of specs like mine. You could use a few more points on the ole' coolometer. Won't be long till your son thinks you're as lame as my oldest does!" The wolf beside him laughed haughtily, a wide, wicked sarcastic grin splitting his brown and silver fur.  
_

"_You're supposed to be the billionaire playboy, remember?" The burnt red lashed over James' face above his white muzzle creased with pleasure as he closed the door and the car roared to life.  
_

* * *

James came back to himself. The flashback, unbidden, had buried him in grief again. He Shook it off. He grabbed an Assault Rifle and Pistol – Both Blasters – and jumped into the car. He stopped for a moment, then grabbed his envirocoat and tossed it inside as well. He turned the motor over, and started the heater full blast. He tapped the button for the Car-lock and creeped the car forward into the massive air lock. It bucked under his light touch. "Shh baby... It'll be alright..." The door ahead of him opened as the one behind him hissed. And he gave the mare under his ass, the beautiful sports car that needed nothing more than a free, hard run, her head.

He wanted nothing more than to go home and drink himself into a stupor. A drunk fogged existence of reliving his greatest and most complete failure over and over again. But he gave his all for the Government he believed in. The one that betrayed him. The one he thought he could save.

Just like he thought he could save his son. His foot sunk on the gas pedal.

* * *

The Vehicle, a _Wild Mare_ by _Ferrut_ rocketed out into the night. Fara watched him leave with a sigh. She put in the password to his room, "V1xY#0X" and entered, looking at the pictures of his real family – and her real father. The Original designer, and builder, of the Arwing's Ancestor, the Phoenix Fighter Bomber. She clutched the paper in her hand tighter. "Another year... One more year, and I can go home. I can claim my Trust fund, and build something BETTER than an Arwing. One... more year without... dad." She cried, letting the big, sloppy tears smooth her fur.

* * *

_Joeseph's car skidded to a halt as James opened the car door, his son Fox sitting in the back crying in fear. The roaring inferno was all that was left of the beautiful black _Masteria _sports car that James drove. And laying some distance away was a corpse. Red fur hung in ragged strips, and whole parts of her body were missing. But James didn't run to that. He ran to the head, laying some five foot distant. Burnt and charred, most of the flesh gone, but flakes of pink-white bone peeking through the blackened flesh. Fox jumped out of the car. He was only twelve or so. "MOM!" he screamed._

_James was crying. Sharp, acid tears ripped their way through his fur as hysterical sobs penetrated his lungs. the tearing pain in his chest was his heart, breaking through his ribs as it swelled huge in his chest before forcing the pumping blood in his system to his brain, an aching pain that forced the veins and arteries to swell and pulse, the pounding ache in his head threatening to rip it off. His hand went for his gun, ready to end it all...  
_

_Fox slid down beside his mother's skull. He grabbed it, panic and total terror in his eyes. "mom..." his voice was small. Meek. Weak. James' hand went limp. This moment was his worst, most goddess forsaken moment in the history of his entire family. Fox's expression began to crack._

_"Don't you dare." James said, glaring at his son. "You... You don't get to break. She's already with the Goddess." He stared at his son hard. "Have some respect. Put it down. Get up. Come with me." Neither one of them was allowed. Mourning could be done later, when the job was finished. First Timothy, and now Vixy. Andross was going to pay dearly. "I'm going to tell you who did this, why, and then I'm going to teach you what you need to know to enroll at the Military Academy while I'm off killing that sick mother fucker."_

_Fox just nodded, his world now in smoldering ashes, pieces smaller than the car was in... Smaller than the bits of his mother strewn across the parking lot of his favorite park. And he knew, somehow, that he would be okay, as long as he had direction._

_Fox McCloud learned how to shoot a gun that night._

* * *

Marie Kusaru felt the ship touch down. She stepped outside in her light armor suit. It wasn't anything fancy by any means, enough to keep her alive in a very light firefight. She was now regretting the decision to be first out and last in, as well as her argument with Marcus about wearing 'real' armor. A sports car was flying in quickly in the distance. But that wasn't what she focused on.

Six Chameleons sat at the bottom of the ramp. An elder one smiled. "Hello, Miss Kusaru." She pulled her pistol as her guardians stepped off the frigate as well. "An entire frigate, just for you? A shame. We have Orders to destroy it." The wizened looking chameleon smiled wickedly. HIs teeth were rotten, almost completely gone. She could almost smell it the sight was so horrid.

"Who's?" She asked, simply, lining up a shot on him. Her feline eyes noticed that around him, snow had stopped hitting the ground. He was using a plasma shield. Now, she silently thanked Sheba, pantheon goddess of Cats, and Marcus, for suggesting she use such an outdated weapon.

"Simple. Admiral Haru's. You're here, chasing information that you don't need to find." His wicked grin grew wider- a real Cheshire grin. As if his face split ear to ear, and his whole head looked as if it flopped as he said it, his sickeningly black speckled tongue slipped out and traced over his lower lip, the fat appendage rolling up, slime dripping to the snow, but stopping just short of the spot of contact, where the plasma shield he was contained in hit the ground.

She didn't answer to the Cornerian military leader's orders. But the name took her back. He had been smiling at her across a desk not even a day past. Then again, when didn't politicians sharpen their claws with your hard work?

"Who are you?" Her voice was firm and unwavering.

"Me? I'm no one important." He raised his cane, and pointed at her. "But, I suppose, to the dead, the one who murdered them IS important." He tapped a button. She jumped to the side, but something clicked against her weather coat. The electrical current rippled over her armor. "SHIT! KILL THEM ALL!" The old man shouted, and she lined up a shot.

The solid ammunition weapon, a 45 caliber, old style revolver, issued a gout of flame. The neat hole in the center of his forehead was all that she needed to know that he hadn't been expecting classic weaponry – which still had advantages over Blasters. His head was once very round. Now it was very much a crescent, brain matter splattering a younger but similar looking Chameleon. Her body flew to the side with the dive, and splashed down into the frozen methane. Green, caustic dust erupted around her.

"FATHER!" he shouted, his flesh going pale green-white, the same color as the snow.


	2. Prologue: A Winter of Discontent

**Codex Entry: Lylat: Gear & Misc.: Armor: Envirocoat:** The Environmental Regulation Plasma Emitting Cloak, or, ERPEC, was designed in direct response to severe weather conditions due to the instability of early weather control technologies. Since it's design in 2048 (Cornerian Standard Year) it has seen extensive use, and older models are usually sold to the highest bidder in private auctions. This has lead to a veritable plethora of armor off shoots, each one using the same design basis for a light, portable, light duty energy and low mass/velocity object shielding. It operates by casting an ionization net inside a localized magnetic alignment field, creating polarized gasses that are agitated and heated to a "fourth state" reaction - Magnetic polarization renders it transparent unless color is necessary for safety reasons. If it fails, it expels this gas away from the user, thanks to a third magnetic field much closer to the user. Rumor has it, some mercenary companies have modified this system to be a 'close quarters combat' discouragement, however, this same shielding process creates interference with other nearby fields, and the more people equipped with it in a localized area, the weaker each shield's magnetic containment. This precludes mass military deployment, although much more powerful star ship and fighter shielding systems can compensate for this thanks to their size and power supply.

* * *

Marie Kusaru was falling. Fifteen feet. Straight into a snowy drift of methane ice crystals. That wasn't the dangerous bit. The snow wouldn't melt her, no. The sulfuric acids in the snow had been neutralized long ago. What she was afraid of was the killing cold it brought with it. Because as she was falling, and her ears were ringing, she could still feel the persistent buzz of an internal alarm telling her one thing. Her time outside in the -280 degree air was what would kill her.

She began to cough, the oxygen in her shield displaced by the violent impact with the ground that shut it down, vaporizing the water-ice that trapped the methane molecules inside. Her environmental shielding had rapidly failed. Killing cold seeped into her coat, the plasma shielding was gone. All that was left was about two to five minutes for her body, naturally resistant to cold, to fail and frost bite to eat her thighs and up to her shoulders. Her fingers were probably already beginning to cold rot as her blood began to freeze. She gasped for air, but got nothing but methane and carbon dioxide. She fished around in her coat, and managed to find a rebreather. She had maybe a minute of oxygen with it, and not enough to fight in this cold, but enough to live for a little longer. She could hope.

The Sports car that had been in the distance was now within shooting distance. A man jumped out of the car, tapping some buttons on his armor's wrist pad. The Car shifted over to auto pilot, simple AI controlling the car, but it continued to pace him as he rushed forward, his Blaster Rifle laying down a line of light – poorly aimed – at the Chameleons, who began to fade against the background of snow.

The car's path swerved close to her, and she began to struggle closer to it, watching the night sky for shapes of snow missing. Her Rescuer, or captor, she didn't care which, however, can't seem to figure that out. He slows down as they fade into the snow, looking confused.

"Where... OOF!" He felt a heavy smash against his back, a solid bullet slamming into him, and sending him rolling forward. Plasma rained down around him as mere cutouts against the night begin to fire, the shapeless blobs revealed only by the snow melting against their environmental shielding. The strange voids began to pelt his position with cover fire as the guards on the frigate continued to open fire. He looked around and he struggled forward in the snow, foot steps loose, slick, and cruching as he finally regained his feet only to fall to his hands again.

"GET THE ASSET OUT OF HERE!" one called, and James nodded as he pushed up off the ground. He ran, and grabbed Kusaru by the coat, tossing her into the open car door, and shoving her over. She screamed as she slamed into something in the passenger side of his car. Burnt hair filled the car as James' armor flashed a heat warning for just a moment.

"What the shi~ ACK!" A chameleon revealed his colors quickly, his fist covered in a glove – a stunner. The punch to his sternum left James Winded, but not helpless. His feet land in the car's floor board, and Kusaru is trapped between a fox in heavy combat armor, and a nearly naked Chameleon with an electric stunner glove. He grabbed the hand, quickly. "Basta – GAH!" He felt another stun glove's punch slam across his face, Kusaru's flailing form between them the only thing keeping his assailant in the car.

A display in the top left corner of his screen flashed red, then he felt his arm litterally drive forward into the seat behind the lizard's head, slamming into the rear of the car's cabin, bursting metal outside as the vibrations from his Armor-Powered punch damage the car. He turned over onto his stomach, knee clipping the gear shift and snapping it off, left foot slamming the gas down as his right crossed over Kusaru's body, putting him between the Lizard's legs.

The sports car accelerated with a force that would shove anyone weighing more than twenty pounds, slamming the lizard's head into the uncomfortable neck-and-head rest, rocketing under the large vessel. The car swerved as the door automatically shut, trapping him inside with the chameleon. He lifted his left leg over the dash, planting it in the small space, his right hand shoving Kusaru roughly into the driver's seat. "DRIVE!" he shouted as he planted a blow in the chameleon's shoulder, the armor's strength increasing capabilities causing the blow to shatter it's collar bone and humerus. His left elbow sank in, blood gouting out as the plates on the elbows ground and smashed, cutting away flesh as he worked his forearm in a twist, his right knee coming up and resting firmly in the lizard's crotch. Blood began to ooze out as he was castrated by grinding joints.

The close quarters struggle is made tighter as the Chameleon pulled a knife in his right hand, and jammed it roughly into a joint in James' armor. He screamed, his lung beginning to fill with blood. The rib plates worked hard, and the blade of the knife snapped off, keeping it firmly planted in his ribs. James pulled his left hand free, and struggled to find the handle with it as he pulled back his right hand, and delivered a lung bruising short cross to the lizard's rib, followed by a clumsy blow to the side of his head.

As James paused, seeking a hand hold on the handle, Kusaru finally extricated herself, grabbed a hold of the wheel, and slammed the gas with her foot. Pain rocketed up her leg as frozen globs of blood dislodge, ripping their way up veins. The lizard screamed, lashing out towards her with the knife, but James is faster. He threw his weight into a shoulder rush, and the lizard's arm snapped at the elbow, the massive shove pulverizing the meat and tendons, ripping through flesh as he slammed the back of the car again, metal behind the cab sheering off, the vehicle's engine exposed.

He jerked open the door, and grabbed the Chameleon by the face. The Terrain got rougher as Kusaru quickly left the road. He looked at her, and she was shuddering – hard. Frost formed on her fur. "SHIT!" He said. His asset was about to die of terrible frost bite. He turned, hard, his fingers clamped around the Chameleon's jaw – then ripped through it's flesh, as it screamed. It's limp, shocked body quickly slides out of the open door, flapping in the wind – and it's jaw snapped from the wind resistance, and it tumbled, head long, into a huge boulder. The blood splatter was enormous, but that wasn't the problem. The remains of it's lifeless head flew over the boulder, and land in the car's engine.

Neither of them noticed it as James closed the door. "Are you hurt?" James asked. The temperature warning on his coat reduced quickly, as the deluxe heater began to pump one hundred and ten degree air into the car.

"Ff-f-f-FREEZING. Ma-ma-mah coat... Failed." Marie said. He looked her over.

Once, She had been a cat.

Now she was a frost burned mess. Fur had fallen out in clumps, and it was obvious she had nearly suffocated. Her fingers were already black. The rot was creeping up her hands already, and where she wasn't covered in blood from cracked and frozen skin, the fur was gone. He choked back bile. This was worse than seeing someone who had been burned by an Arwing Engine. He had experience with death by Frostbite.

* * *

_The blizzard whipped around James' head, his heavy envirocoat shielding him from the most part. Beside him, Joeseph and Peppy on the left, Timothy and the new recruit, Kelan Toms, a tiger feline on the right. They watched the snow closely, the "Yeti" as it was called was actually a feral bear that had slain nearly fifteen travelers during a weather systems malfunction. They'd seen it run this way, and it was an unexpected guest in the middle of their mission.  
_

_James looked around, warm memories of his allies fighting the bitter cold whipping around his plasma shielding - thankfully, they'd managed to secure external power sources for the coat, allowing them to operate for hours at a time. They'd just left the 'recharge station' - a simple, heavily shielded hut in the ice fields, with warm food and drink at the ready._

_James was a nearly five and a half foot tall Lylan, making him tower over the most common Lylans. his lupine features gave him a wild, untamed look, but his sense of dress was, at best, dorkish. He was fit, with a pilot's physique - lean and lithe and twitchy. His fur was so red, some days it seemed crimson, and his orange furred wife and he had just started trying to get pregnant, though his frequent trips to space were slowing that down a fair bit._

_Joeseph was his best friend - a marine in his youth, and cut like a brick shit house due to his martial arts expertise, which he still practiced. Former cage fighter, ladies man, and the financial backing of the team. He had the attitude of a billionaire playboy spy - real super hero complex - and he had the money to back it up. His Porn-star girlfriend was smoking hot - and that's all that mattered to Joe. "Pretty gets you far, Money gets you farther, and pretty money sets you for life," was a motto of his._

_Peppy was the oldest. He stood a little taller than the rest, not counting his ears, which brought his full heigth to seven foot two, though at his head he was closer to five nine, he was fit. An at one time Olympian wrestler, who lately, had begun indulging his chocolatier's fetish, he was still the fittest of the team. Muscles bulged, and even under a shallow layer of fat, one could see his six pack. He was the muscle of the group when it came to detaining someone, and he was the best shot, considering he spent a good fourty percent of his time hunting Ferals. His wife at home would expect him back, and that gave him the survivors instinct that the new kid wouldn't have._

_Timothy Phoenix was another fox in the group, this time, a Fennec. His shorter, lither frame and wind-hardened features from his youth of Katina, and his excellent cullinary talents left James in awe of the complete and total nerd. From cooking to aeronautics engineering, there's nothing the man couldn't do. Technology, in all honest, was his bitch. Good for him too, since his ex-wife had died, and left him with an infant daughter to take care of at one month. The nannies would be set for life, considering how stinking rich he was._

_And then there was Kelan. He was a short, stout tiger. Standing four foot nine inches, and being 36 inches wide, he was a brawler of a brawny kid. He was young, and he was from Cernia. The new colony birthed some of the smartest kids James had ever seen, and the kid's eyes were a brilliant indigo. He was stealthy to the point it was a fault, considering he couldn't help it. He was a tracker, and excellent navigator. _

_Today was his first mission with Star Fox - named not for James, but the founder of the group, Timothy. Though, that bit usually got lost in translation, considering the people-phobic Timothy had signed James' name to everything, including the contract to have their Starship, the Great Fox, built. Of course, that was all political - something James hated. James shook off his reverie as he looked at Kelan, who looked to be itching to move about and warm up._

_"Kelan." He said, looking to the young blood. "Go over there and get a read with the Thermo. I want to find this damn thing and get home."  
_

_"Not as bad as I do." Said Joeseph. "I got a porn star wife at home and kids to father with her!"_

_"It worries me that you put it in that order." Said Peppy, smirking beneath his scarf._

_Timothy chuckled. "Not me. A happy wife is one who isn't horny and bitchy. You wolves..." he shook his head. "You're whipped!"_

_"Cut the chatter. Making me think of my pregnant wife at home." James sighed as he said it. He really hoped she was able to handle it this time. The tiger had started climbing up the hill, and then he just vanished. "KELAN!" He began to dash up the snow, drifts interfering with every step._

_Joeseph and Timothy were hot on his heels, and Peppy was already lining up a shot. The loud report of Laser fire, a dull whine that trailed into a shrill hiss of heat escaping from the one shot weapon as he ejected the spent battery were all that could be heard over the roaring of a bear and tiger in a death match._

_"COME ON!" Kelan yelled, as he burst from under the bear, who tottered with pain and shock as the burn hole penetrated it's major neck arteries. But it wasn't dead. The tiger lept up, and used his claws, dipped in a chemical hardener, still cracked and bleeding from the first time, to grab it's throat. He closed his grip tight, blood erupting around his hand, warm and wet and slick. He planted his right foot in it's chest, and kicked, the bear's throat coming out - and he pulled something else out with it. His arm._

_James ran harder the moment he saw it. But it wouldn't change the cat's fate. "KELAN! NO!" He dashed to the site, blood gushing from the young pups arm, and the cat just grabbed the wound, holding his shoulder, and grunting as he fell to his knees. "Kelan, stay with me, come on pup!" he began to fish under his cloak for a sewing kit - and then Tim did something unexpected. He pulled up his wrist communicator, and with a few taps, he was holding a welding rod, red hot and smoldering in the snow. He then simply brushed it over the cat's stump as Joeseph pulled away his arm, and the tiger screamed.  
_

_"What the heck!?" James shouted. Peppy grabbed his shoulder. James looked at what he held. It was full of holes. What had been Kelan's arm was destroyed, maimed beyond all hope of repair by any field medicine they had. "Shit. Come on, we'll get one cloned."_

_"Too... late... boss." The tiger's gravely, too deep voice. "Lost... too much blood... Front... Pocket." he said._

* * *

"Damnit... You're not going to die. I Won-"

"Papers. Here." She fumbled, and cried as a frost brittled finger bone snapped as she pulled the papers from inside her coat. They were turning green with methane contamination, and so brittle he wouldn't be able to look at them. He placed them into the glove compartment with a growl. The Engine sputtered. "What the shit?" She said, looking back, as the car began to descend to the ground. They were a few hundred yards from a Hangar.

"Fuck! Something must have wrecked the engine." James said. He looked about. He was casting, blindly for something to do. He shook his head. "Damnit. I'm getting too old for this." he muttered as he reached in back, and grabbed his own enviro coat. He pulled it up, and pressed it around her shoulders. "It's not much, but if we can get inside, we SHOULD be able to make up a plan to get you back on the boat."

"H-Hurry... I'm... I'm so cold that I'm... What's the... What's the phrase?" She was shaking so hard that he could litterally see the fur from her body falling out.

James blinked. "Woah. Keep the coat on. Period. Do NOT take it off." He knew more about Frost-Death than most. Fortuna taught him everything he needed to know about that.

"I W-W-Wuh-Will." She said, shuddering so hard it made his teeth rattle. He nodded, and the car finally died out. About fifty yards separated them from what little sanctuary they could have. A gun battle still raged, a good ways behind them. Lasers shot across the green tinged snow. He kicked open the door and stepped out, grabbing Marie's hand. It felt so brittle and cold. "Damn! Let's go, come on!"

She stumbled behind him. The distance between them and the hangar was being eaten away by their steps, but it was still far too slow for James' liking. "How long will the ship stay?"

"If I'm not back on it... wi-within... Four... Forty Forty six? No... One venom day... Then they leave." She was stumbling over her words. Even with an envirocoat, you cloud still feel the cold air penetrating the shield. That's why you couldn't use them for long periods of time. That's why it always was too far. Too long of a distance.

He had to get her out. No matter the cost. His car would be fine – they'd tow it to Evidence, and he'd pick it up later. He had to save her, damnit! He turned, and picked her up, his armor's shield consuming and reinforcing her envirocoat's. It was a little warmer for them now.

* * *

_Kelan stumbled. He was so close now, he could see the doorway into the huge hangar where the long cold night could be ended. Peppy was already pulling up the program in his wrist computer to run on the hardware inside that controlled the weather satellites. Timothy was holding up Kelan, his armor's environment controls turned up as high as he could get them, but a busted shield did no good for Kelan. There wasn't enough space inside for the both of them. James was melding his own enviro-armor's shielding with Timothy's but it wasn't enough._

_Joeseph busted open the door with a brute force hack, Overriding it's controls to manual and crossing wires. James and Timothy were now hauling a corpse. Moments too late, the door slammed shut and emergency lighting took over the room. Kelan's cold body fell to the floor, snow shaking from their coats as they quickly worked, trying to resuscitate him.  
_

_Once, he had been handsome. Comely, even. He was a pretty boy, stripes on his face had given him a rugged and sagacious apperance, and his body was hard packed and always beautiful._

_Now, he was a hideous creature. His coat had completely malfunctioned, and they hadn't known it till too late. His fur was missing in spots, frozen off and fallen out. Brittle, flaking skin was black and covered in ridges, where his very blood had frozen. Two minutes ago they could have made him whole again. Now? He was dead. Blood, frozen in the cryogenic temperatures outside, didn't even pool around the places where his flesh froze to his coat and tore off._

_James just stared as Peppy and Joeseph went to finish the mission. "James... We have to finish." Timothy said to his friend and boss, touching his shoulder._

_James just looked up at Timothy, eyes glazed with grief. Peppy walked back in. "Program uploaded. Mission Accomplished."_

_The young, twenty something fox looked up at the older hare, and just blinked... Before he lost all sense of temper. "ACCOMPLISHED!? There's no goddess-damned ACCOMPLISHMENT here! We got a young man KILLED, Peppy!"_

_"WE COULDN'T HELP THAT!" Peppy shouted, as James got up, one of his hot tempers taking hold. "WE TRIED! The bear attack was unforeseen!"_

_"How did that son of a bitch SURVIVE in that?!" James asked. "The weather ATE KELAN. IT ATE HIM PEPPY. HOW DID THAT GODDESS DAMN BEAR LIVE!?"_

_"I DON'T KNOW, JAMES!" Peppy didn't give ground. The fox in front of him was fighting mad. "WE COMPLETED THE MISSION. HIS LIFE WAS NOT IN VAIN! We killed the bear. We stopped the malfunction. Take the win son." The hare stood his ground against the fox. despite being the oldest member of the team, he was still the most fit. An avid hunter's physique gave him an intimidating visage when he needed it - James blinked a bit. Peppy was the only member of the Lapin species that could really intimidate him.  
_

_Timothy coughed. James looked at him. "What? You got something to say?"_

_Timothy adjusted his glasses with his middle finger, pushing them up the bridge of his nose, light obscuring his eyes for a moment on the reflection. "It survived... because it was nested in these. Flora Spectra." he held out one of the leathery brown fleshed plants with the exotic glowing fruits. "Ferals seek them out. They can... do things."_

_Joeseph snorted. "Another crazy assed theory, Tim?"_

_James sighed, and let his head drop. Peppy wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Mission ... Complete. Let's... go home. Peppy, call us up a ride."_

_Timothy snorted at Joeseph, and smirked. "You watch. Spectra Flora will be the key to a new age." He smirked._

_James hesitantly reached into Kelan's front coat pocket, and withdrew a note. As he read it, he could hear, deep in the back of his mind, Kelan's young, too deep for his body voice, rumbling out the words._

_"If you're reading this, I didn't make it. My mom and dad live on Corneria now, and my Girlfriend on Katina. She's got this accent that just slays me man... Look, My mom and dad and I weren't on the best of terms, but I want them to get some of my share of the haul. I want my girlfriend to get half of it. She needs the money for College. Her name is Dana Monroe. She's Cernian like me, a cougar. She's just visiting her folks on Katina for a while, then she's moving back to Cernia. We think she's pregnant! Just... Make sure she gets enough to live well." The note ended. James handed it to Peppy. The hare read it as the fox sulked, bitter bile in his throat rolling up. He stepped away, and unleashed it, as the note made it's rounds to the other guys._

_"... I've got this covered." Said Joeseph, watching his blood brother vomit again, heaving with pain as his chest squeezed behind every foul eruption. "She'll be taken care of. That's for sure."_

_Timothy nodded quietly. Not as rich as Joe, but rich enough to give up a good bit of money. Peppy and James were the poorest of the lot. But he knew, in a heart beat, both of them would give up their full share to give that girl some kind of hope. Especially with a baby on the way._

* * *

They had almost reached the door. Warmth lay just beyond that door. Safety lies just inside that hanger. He glanced back. A Chameleon with a long, hideous scar grinned as he walked, purposefully, away from James' car. "No..." he muttered. There was half a beat, and the chameleon pulled up a detonator. The click of a button was audible.

The Explosion ripped his precious sports car in half. Flames licked at the frozen snow, the orange licks of combustion quickly extinguishing themselves as they burned through the methane trapped in the water ice snow. He opened the door. Marie ran in, turning about to look at Tiber, her eyes wide as they caught sight of the asshole behind them. As Tiber dashed inside, he turned.

"Tiber OXIAN!" The Chameleon called, his voice sick and cracking, a manic sound that grated not only on the nerves, but cut down to the quick of one's soul. He twirled a knife in his hands. "You've killed my sister, you faggot! And that bitch, my father! I WANT... My pound... OF FLESH!" He pulled the spinning knife high over his shoulder, screaming with fury and something deeper, more disturbing. The blade hissed through the snow. It slammed into the door as it shut, the blade in the jamb, millimeters from James' visor. He gasped, If he hadn't been shot before, he would have just shit himself, quite literally. The chameleon began to pound the door, screaming fury. "NO FURRE ESCAPES GRIGORI! GRIGORI POLAWSKI! I will have your tail, You fucking cocksucker... and then I'll let you die after!" He cackled, pulling the dagger from the door jamb and slamming it into the door, ripping through metal.

"What the shit!?" Marie said, shocked that the freakish creature outside was literally stabbing through two inches of metal. She felt the temperature start to drop. Rapidly. "Tiber?" Wind and snow howled as it began to scream through the small slots in the door. The dagger jammed again and again through the door.

"Code name." he whispered to her, grabbing her bicep near her shoulder. He lead her deeper inside. Her envirocoat's plasma shield merged with his armor's seamlessly, though the electrified magnetic gas ability to repel heat or cold in normal situations was rapidly failing. They'd spent too long in the cold. They were barely able to pull a minute. Two and you were sick with hypothermia. Three, and you were dead. He was approaching the second minute with her out of decent heat. "Come on!" he said, picking her up, and throwing her over his armored shoulder, and pulling his side arm – the laser pistol hummed as he set it to auto-charge. He kicked open a door, and ran inside, spinning around to shut it with a foot. The heat rose dramatically as he did, but they had no time to waste. It was still time to run.

The hallway ran beside the heating cores inside the hangar, used to vent massive heat at the end of the long Venomian night - right now, they were closed off and running on power up mode - the whole complex was probably almost frozen. They had been sent home, apparently. Though, the tough old fox was pissed off at the very thought of Marie dying because some asshole decided snow was too much to handle.

He planted his boot in a second door, causing it to swing wide in protest, a gust of hot air creating methane steam as he carried her inside, turned, and slammed the door with his foot. The Armor boosted his strength by a fair amount. He checked the gauge on his heat monitor. A little better. But not enough. He ran deeper, her body jostling on his armor. He hated this! He was literally going to kill her by trying to save her life at this rate! She groaned loudly, pain lacing her form as blood began to thaw, black flesh trying to come back to life and failing.

He pulled up a sonar map of his surroundings, and continued to move deeper into the complex. "I'll get you out of here... You're not going to die, Marie." His heavy boots slammed the grated pathway, cement below cold enough to freeze flesh on contact. The pounding sound echoed, cold metal clank split by the crack and groan of cold metal protestations.

"G-G-good..." She muttered. She wasn't feeling particularly thankful as he kicked open a third door, sending the lock system into a fit as he turned and shut the door, the heat in the room finally rising to appreciable, above 0 degrees, ranges. Blood leaked into his lung, but he continued to run, growling all the time. Pain seared his mind with every ragged breath. It hurt, but the armor's pressure and medical subroutines were helping kill the pain and push through the pain.

He looked at the time indicator on his heads up display. The Venomian night was only four hours in. Great. Meant he had another fourty four hours of hell to live through. He looked down at Marie, and another memory came up, unbidden, at the sight.

* * *

_James looked at the video phone as he shut off the com-channel with Kelan's parents outside his now ex-girlfriend's house. He straightened his beret, then growled, flung it off, stomped it, and pulled back on his communications helmet. He tapped in Peppy's number on his wrist-computer, and growled as it rang thrice before Peppy picked it up._

_"Heya sport." Peppy said, relishing his status as senior member of the group. KRA-KOW! A report of a rifle fired off, and he heard the sound of deliberate chambering from Peppy's side of the line._

_"I just talked to Kelan's folks. Everybody got their cut. Damnit, Peppy, why did we lose that kid?"_

_KRAKOW! "We didn't. Fate took him down a different road." Ka-chink, ting-a-ling-a-ring, "Besides. You really think Tim would have voted to let him stay on? He's adamant about Joe not marrying Shiva. Says that 'too much' -" KRAKOW! "baggage will drag us down." The sound of chambering another shot, and the spent shell hitting concrete again - "I wish it hadn't happened. That's why I'm practicing. I need to be a better shot." The report of the rifle again, followed by the sound of a stock hitting the ground. The groan of a thirty something Lylan getting up, his knees protesting. "Go home, James. Make love to your wife. I don't mean sex. I mean light the candles, trim the fur, and shag her till the moon's gone down twice." he heard a giggle from the other end of the line, and some muttered phrases. "Speaking of... I'm getting while the getting's good."_

_Right as peppy hung up his phone, James heard the distinct sound of Peppy's wife's voice saying, "What do you think about Amanda as a name?" James shook his head. Leave it to Jane Hare to pick a name like that._

_His walk home would be short, Kelan's folks only lived ten blocks from his own home. He decided not to jog home, however, because he needed the time to think. His communicator issued a tone. "Yeah?" He said, by way of answering. A blue holographic face of Joeseph showed up. Panic rode his features like the hounds of hell._

_"J.T! Bro, help! I... I think I got her pregnant!" The crash of dishes behind him, and the narrow miss of a frying pan flying behind his head made James chuckle._

_"Joe, calm down man."_

_"No! You don't get it! She didn't claim me first man!" A shoe smashes the side of J.W.'s head as he slammed the door. "This is bad, this is real bad."_

_"Dude, she's a porn-star. She probably has a few other kids in the system."_

_"No, man! She's always used condoms. She's got a good gig with a good production company. Clean as a whistle and everything, I checked." A knife slipped through the door._

_"Then just suck it up an man up, Joeseph."_

_"You don't get it man! She's half-grey wolf! She never wanted to marry another Grey-wolf because of the chance of Feral Kids!"_

_"Look man, Relax, calm down. Might wanna run before she kills you. Give her a little while to calm down."_

_"I just proposed to her! She's GONNA KILL ME MA-GACK!" The door busted down and there was the sound of a scuffle. The camera disconnected, but the phone connection remained. "Shiva, wait, I didn't know you and I had gotten pregnant!"_

_"You and I?! Why'd you say it like that?"_

_"Because, baby!" Shifting clothes, someone sitting up to talk to someone face to face by the sound of it. "I wanna be with you. I ain't some chump. I knew the risks. That's why I said yes when you asked if I was willing to risk that kind of stuff. I'm ready to be a father for you. FOR YOU. I'd do anything."_

_"Oh Joe, baby... You know I can't say no to you with those little silver tears.. comere, baby!" he heard a very strange sound like a 'merf' and heard vague mutterings form Joe._

_"Baby... breathing... can't... boobs..."_

_"OH! Baby! Don't do thaaattt! mmn!" James hung up quickly, blush riding up his cheeks. He was getting close to his house now. He turned to see Timothy, holding a baby in his arms, walking down the path to his suburban home, near James' own. Fara was in his arms, sleeping soundly._

_"Hey, Jay." Said Timothy, all smiles and nerdy glasses, as usual. "Been talking to Joe again? Always knew you had a crush on him." Timothy laughed as James rolled his eyes. He held out his arms and smiled. Timothy deposited a sleeping Fara in his arms, and her tail went to wagging._

_"Damn man. You make a pretty kid." He smiled as his friend, and tickled the pup's chin, her big ears twitching. "What's the chance of ferality?"_

_"None. Her mother and I elected to have Spectra Therapy. It's experimental, but, hey. It works a charm, in my opinion. She's already got her sea legs as it were - she's barely a month and already crawling!"_

_"For real dude? Damn. Normal kids don't try that for months."_

_"I know! It's amazing! Well, come on, Fara. We gotta get you to Day-care. Daddy has to go design SPACE-PLANES!"_

_"What about me and Vixy keeping her?"_

_"No, man. Sorry. I appreciate it, really, but, you guys have to practice pupping, quite a lot. You've barely been married a year, and you've been off world for nine months out of the last twelve. Go, home. Get laid damnit!" He took Fara back, nothing but love and pride in his eyes. James smiled, and jogged home, happy for the first time in months._

_As he walked into his door, all smiles and happiness, Vixy rounded the corner, tears streaking her eyes. James' smile dropped in an instant. Vixy cried harder. "Sorry..." she sobbed heavily. "I tried, really hard, but..."_

_"What's wrong?" His voice, deepened with adrenaline and a protective instinct, rattled from his chest as he boldly walked to her, pulling her into a hug that spoke only of protection, warmth, and true, deep love._

_"I... I couldn't... I couldn't keep the baby. I... I miscarried." James held her tighter as she flung her arms around her lover and husband, claws scraping his denim jacket, pulling him tight as sobs racked her body. "That's... the third one, James."_

_"Shh, baby, it's alright. We'll go to the doctor. He'll be able to help. We knew it would be hard, being so pure-blooded and all." He looked at her - her features were far more feline than his, but were still lupine. grace which she normally embodied had faded into the grief that wracked her. "I'll do whatever it takes, even if it means local jobs. I swear. I'm not going to let this happen again."_

_She nodded slowly._

_Two years after that, his son was born, a happy, healthy baby boy with no chance of Ferality. Johnathon Fox McCloud._

* * *

James sighed. He sat down, and began typing on the computer, opening a heat vent into the room as he looked for Medical kits.

* * *

Grigori sighed. There was no telling through which door he should chase the escaping target. He opened up a communication channel. "Team, forget the ship. You're going after the mark. I'll be going back to my house to get some weaponry. We're going to need more than what we have to take out the cat's guardian."

"Aye cap, we understand. She'll be dead before sunrise."

"See that she is. I'd hate to use my personal collection to kill her." Grigori grinned wickedly. He already felt his pants tenting at the thought of destroying any sense of hope either of them had, and then, the absolute glory of severing her jugular and... playing... He giggled manically.

He walked back to the sports car's husk, and kicked it with a huff, not caring that he dislodged his cousin's head meat from the shattered, smoldering remains of the engine. He quickly stepped to the other side of the air field, and mounted up on his environmentally shielded hover bike. He revved the engine, and took off. Grigori's insane smile split his face nearly in half as his eyes glimmered with pure hate.


	3. Prologue: The Memories of Discontent

A/N: This chapter contains mature content. Reader discretion is advised. I again state, this chapter was hard to write. It is hard to read. This chapter belongs here because it sets the stage for the rise and fall of a major player in this story.

* * *

**Codex Entry: Lylat: Society: General: **The peoples of the Lylat system proudly call themselves "Lylans" - They have tamed and mastered their system within the Greater Wall Belt, and even begun colonizing a star on the far side of the belt, known as "Ceru" - And it's chief, habitable planet, Cernia. The People of Lylat, despite rallying under this huge banner, also cling tightly to family groups. Familial relations are casual and tight. Family groups remain primal in definition, Packs, Prides, Herds, and other group definitions apply to them all. Instead of raising new children taking a village or being done by single family members - Generally, this is 'in sourced' to other family members - while the parents retain chief responsibility, most Lylans take great pride in aiding in rearing children, and as such, kids are more often than not, bounced from nearby relative to other nearby relative, rounding out their life experiences quickly, and aiding in a quick education. This translates into Lylans entering the workforce in an 'apprenticeship' position at the age of 14, or entering the military academy. Love may seem strained in these relationships, but the parent is the ultimate authority in a Lylan child's life, and no legal precedent exists for the removal of children from bad situations - this is usually handled by the family.

* * *

Many years ago...

Leon Polawski was aware the minute he was born. He felt the pipe go down his throat, vacuuming out the gestational fluids he had been surrounded in. He coughed. He breathed.

He didn't cry. He was aware that it was... necessary. His first few moments in life were beyond his control. He didn't mind. Of course they were, he had no idea why he was on the slightly bouncy surface, nor why he was wrapped in rough cotton cloth that pulled at his soft, barely developed scales. He didn't care why they pulled at his tail and legs as they wrapped the part of his body with his eleventh finger (Or was it a toe?) on it in weird, fluffy stuff. The moment, however, he realized, that he was in his mother's arms, was the only time in his life, he felt something other than cold calculation and fear and anger.

He felt content.

He suckled at her breast, because he knew, instinctively, that the Krazoa just disliked the thought of a child being independent from birth, and so they had based all of their creations on mammalian DNA. The Colostrum was bitter, but filling, considering he had almost no space in his stomach.

And then he saw his father. He wished, instantly, he never had. One look, and he was afraid. Grigori Polawski was smiling and prideful. But Leon saw something else. A man who killed. Who murdered. Who was a Savage bastard. In his first few minutes of life, the child Leon knew fear. And somehow, in the back of his mind, the realization clicked. He would always know this fear.

* * *

Years passed...

Leon grew. His father descended into alcoholism as his jobs became bloodier. His job was that of the enforcer. The goon. His father's lackey. He was the one who was called on when someone needed to lose teeth, or perhaps a pound of flesh need be extracted. The jobs got bloodier still. Killing. Maiming, breaking legs and arms. Cracking skulls as the muscle for bigger operations. The jobs got darker. Molesting an unpaid bill's daughter. Killing his wife, and forcing him to cuddle the corpse. His father told him it was necessary. He didn't know why, but, he was a good son. He did not question. But he managed, mostly, to keep his family separate from them.

Until Leon was Five.

Leon was watching a TV Show – He couldn't recall anything but it being about dressed up idiots (Who would one day end up famous stars or strung out drug addicts) fighting against nerds in INCREDIBLY bad costumes. But his father comes in, spittle and alcohol leaking down his face. His mother turns to him and stands from the couch, saying something. It sounded sweet. He doesn't remember it. It wasn't the important part. What was important to the five year old lizard, was what his father did.

By way of greetings, his father, wild eyed and stumbling, pulled a knife, and jammed it into his mother's throat, slinging her screaming, panicking body onto the couch, and them unceremoniously back handing Leon to the ground. He cried out in pain. He felt his face – the side of his eye socket was broken. But he turned to watch, in an utter sensation of fear, that same haunting emotion he always had when his father was around, as his father pulled the knife out and cut, violently, down his mother's body, demolishing her flesh as he revealed her to the world – and to her son. "LEON! DON'T LOOK!"

He couldn't obey. He wanted to. She was the only thing who could control him. Teach him. LOVE him. She was his life. His mother. His sweet, glorious mother, who fed him and bathed him and tickled him and made him laugh and LOVED him beyond any shadow of any doubt of anything.

But How can you sit by in terror as the only thing you could ever love is destroyed and not do something? But he was five. There was nothing he could do. He was paralyzed by fear and terror. And he watched. His eyes felt the image burn in. His mind warped from the strain, but he would never know a different mind. Fear began to fade away, replaced by a subtle glee at seeing it.

His father's words rung clear. "I'm doing it to save you!" The sound of a knife making a dull thud in dead flesh.

"It's the only way baby!" Another dull thud in dead flesh. A wet, tearing sound.

"You don't know what daddy had planned!" Another, sickening crunch of bones. Another wet squelch. Another sick, sadistic excuse poured from a bottle into a young, terrified, broken mind.

And he learned a lesson that day.

Violence and Sex on the TV are something entirely different to the reality of it. In Reality, Violence is sex. Sex is violent. The things his father did, even as his mother's eyes went vacant as she stared at her son in horror, tears running down her face, would stay with Leon forever. You can't change the past. But Leon wanted to change this night for the rest of his life. But, how can you take something like that out of your mind? The death of something pure... because of your own cowardice.

* * *

Years passed...

At eight, Leon finally experienced first hand the horrors his mother had. It wasn't his father, no... It was one of father's whores he kept around, strung out on drugs and booze, who'd turned her abuses on him. He sat in the corner of his room, naked, alone, and crying. She had done things to him. Terrible things. He quivered as she rose from his bed. "The FUCK are you doing, Bitch!?" His father cried from the doorway.

His father, alternately savior and teacher, then captor and slave master. Terror and worship welled up inside young Leon. But he was afraid. Those things the lady did were similar to the things daddy did to mommy. He didn't want to hurt the lady! She was nice... when she wasn't drunk. She was nice, when she wasn't high. His eyes snapped up to her, when she started talking.

"You wasn't home ya fuck! Was I supposa do? Neededa Gimme som!"

"Fucking WHORE!" His father did it again. The same damn thing, almost to the timing that he'd done to his mother. Leon watched. Again. He just sat there, shaking.

"He's MINE, BITCH!" Shlunk.

"FUCKIN TOUCH HIM NOW, SKANK!" Shlink, plop. Thunk. shlunk. Thunk. thunk. thunk.

"WHORE BREATH! DIE! FUCKIN FUCKIN FUCKIN DIE!"

When his father was done, and dragged the lifeless body of the whore from the room, Leon didn't care. He slept amongst the body parts his father had carved off of the whore, in the stinking puddle of blood on his bed. And he realized that if he did not control it... It would hurt him.

Every day from there on was planned. Avoid which ever whore his father had that week or month. Avoid his father. It never always went according to plan. He continued to receive beatings. Broken limbs. Busted lips, bloodied eyes. He wanted to die. He wished the beatings would just stop. But his father would never end them. His father couldn't. If he did, well, that would mean things were even worse for him.

He came to understand. Pain can be love. Who cared if he was wounded by it? Better to die of a broken body while you loved unconditionally...

Than to die of a broken heart in a broken home.

* * *

Years pass...

Puberty can destroy a lot of innocence. Never more than the innocence of Leon Polawski. At thirteen, he was standing outside, the small bird in his hand – a common species of song bird, unevolved and useless, twitching it's death throes. He was stunned by what he had done. Most children, he knew, would have laughed and giggled at it's song. He hadn't. He'd been infuriated. How could something be happy when he was so deep in the darkest place on Venom? HOW!? He had snatched it from mid air, and snapped the poor creature. But that wasn't what stunned him.

How **good** he **ultimate** in control. Oh how he wished he could have made it last longer. Force the love in his chest for his father out and into this poor, pathetic creature. Maybe his love could make it understand, maybe it would speak with him...

Be his friend!

Then the stirring of his loins. **That **was what stunned him. Is this what love did to him? He stared down at himself, blood oozing around his fingers. He shuddered and collpased. The heavy pant from his lips as he struggled to quench the burn. The pressure.

And so he took a lesson from his father. It felt wrong and good at the same time. He screamed in agonized joy.

"The fuck are you doing, boy?!" His father asked from behind him.

"Fath-" blood already soaked his father's form. He was done with his latest plaything, apparently. But his plea was cut short.

"Don't." He backhanded Leon. He screamed as he felt claws around his throat – and a very UNWELCOME addition to his loins. "Think it's fuckin FUN huh!? WELL, IS IT!?"

After the humiliation and pain, he had thought it wouldn't get worse. It did. He felt his limp body dragged, then thrown into the cellar. His bones snapped, several times as he cascaded down the horrible journey. He cried. Now, he knew. Love made the heart ache. But hate made it burn. It hadn't been love that stirred his loins. It was hate. Pure, uncontrolled hate.

Hate was as powerful as love. More, even. Why should something broken and useless like he was be allowed to live? His father was merciful, surely, to only have done that to him, instead of what should have been done to him. He realized, in that moment.

"I should be dead." He said it aloud. His father sneered at the top of the stairs.

"Do you want to be?"

His voice was quiet. It was tearful as he said it, intoned in the words were far more than simple kinds of pain, it was a pain of a soul being crushed, and killed. "Yes..."

"I wanted a life of peace and pleasure. What do I have Leon? I have a filthy son. I have filthy whores who can't please me. I live in blood and war. I Accept this. I am a broken man, born of a broken man, born of a broken universe." His father's sneer reached him, illuminated in an otherworldly light, hate seeming to give his features a dark radiance. Eyes and a Cheshire grin bore down on his broken form. "You're scum. Not worth the cum that made you, filth. Wallow. Wallow in your sick, sad, pathetic existence, you coward. You couldn't even take your own life if I handed you the knife."

"but..." Leon said, his father's grin bearing down, "I could take yours..."

His father's grin broke. He charged down the stairs. The nightmare resumed.

* * *

Years pass once more...

Leon is 16. He hasn't been out of the cellar in years. He huddled in the corner, amongst the bones of his mother and the whores his father has slain in his rages. A pile of his necessary events in the far corner, as he sees the door open. "Hello?"

A woman's voice. He huddled down into the bones further. Women who speak to him do the same thing that OTHER one did. Or he did what he did to the bird to them. And then he gets beaten. Filth belongs in the cellar. In the dark. In hell.

He keeps quiet. "I'm not here to hurt you. Your father said you had a condition where light burns you. I"m bringing you your food."

It was set, neatly, on a platter, at the base of the steps. "He really needs to clean this up..." She said, absently, as she walked back up the stairs. She must have been slow. Or maybe she was like him. So broken this kind of thing didn't bother her.

He quickly grabbed the plate, eating, feverishly as she closed the door, packing it away before it spoiled. The day passed – But a second meal was brought, and this time, some of the bones were taken away. He ate, again, feverishly devouring the food.

Months passed this way – two, four, time was hard to tell down here. But the Cellar had been cleaned. She finally saw him. "What did those women do to you?" She asked.

"Raped me. Beat me. Fed me." He said quite matter of factly. "Offered me drugs. Beer. Let every kind of hell they could think of have me." She nodded. She stepped upstairs, and came back down. He had already finished his food. She handed him something. "What's this?"

"Books. You know how to read?" She looked at him, ashamed. But she was beaten as well. Brain washed and destroyed. He had no idea how deep the scars went on her. His went to the bones. Was she as bad as he? She was barely older than him.

"I remember. I think." Images in his head flashed through. Broken bits of story, translated in his mind to movies, clips of joy and love, smeared over by a patina of horror and hell.

"Good. These are just manuals I found in the house. It's not much but -"

"Leave. You'll be found."

She nodded, and left. Not two minutes later, he heard the door open, and the beatings begin again – until she once again, turned the table, and gained another month of life by... satisfying... that horrid bastard. The bile in his throat swelled up, but then stopped. He thought of her again, her candy colored scales, and her sweet scent. Instead of the feeling he always had before when he felt the stir, this was different. He pulled up the book. "Reloading Solid Ammunition, Omnibus Part One" he said to himself quietly. And War crept it's way into one teenager's personal hell, invading his mind with the force of a thousand marching feet, to the steady thump of horror above him, the crescendo of screams of pain and grunts of perverse pleasure.

* * *

He read. He ate food that was well cooked. And he cleared the necessary events out. It took months. But soon, he was living as a Lylan should, in a clean room, with a nice lady who helped him. He read books. Piles of them. She snuck out to the library for him, bringing him new books. Ones of not just war, but love, and peace, and men who were honorable. Even once, a book on parenting. Someone should have made his father read this in the womb until the day he was born, and from then till his death.

Leon wasn't sure his father would have been able to read anyway.

She showed him respect and honor. And he loved her like he'd loved no other creature. He told her what had happened. And every time his father and her jailer appeared, she tried harder to please him. And it would work. He would bring in different whores to kill. He was becoming attached to her. Which was good. It meant she lived.

His Grandfather would visit, and he would be pulled from his pit, cleaned and scrubbed, and shown off as the Future of the Syndicate to his Grandfather. The old man didn't care. But he did have things to show Leon. That's where he learned he loved space. He only left Venom once. But when he did, he was scared for her.

Every time his father came back, he was furious that she would lay with him. She started to lay with Leon. It was not the painful experiences his father would give him when he was brought out of the hellish room he was confined to. These were soft, and pleasurable. They read books together. Talked about things inside them. Things outside his window.

* * *

Current Day...

There was a blizzard. His father left for a job. She came to see Leon. They kissed, and smiled, and were happy and content. "I love you, Leon."

"I love you too, Cherry." He knew that was not her name from birth. He didn't care. He knew that, since his mother, this was the first time he had said that phrase and meant it.

They were soft and gentle as they started. She kept him from becoming violent as they went on, rubbing him and soothing him. Easing the anger, relaxing his hate, and opening his heart and mind to the truth of real people. People outside these walls, outside this dungeon.

The people who didn't live in hell.

The front door opened. His cursing father came in. He noticed the basement door. "What the FUCK!?"

She paled. "No..." She quickly scavenged around the room, looking for a weapon. Leon stood, naked and furious. He would NOT touch her again. Cherry was HIS woman. His father was never around to hear the things she had been through. HE didn't know how alike Cherry was to him. His father shot him with a blaster in the knee cap. He screamed. Pain seared through his body, and he cried as he screamed out to her, "NO! CHERRY! RUN!"

She didn't even make it to the steps before he caught her. And then the nightmare started all over again. He felt what tender artery of sanity that pumped love into his life and soul, the last pulse of the light in his life, choke off.

He was broken.


	4. Prologue: A Tragedy of Discontent

A/N: For those of you just arriving, Might I ask you take a moment to breathe, and enjoy your life? You don't live in the harsh world I'm creating. It may seem exciting, but really think on this - they're living in an utter hell. Even with space-ships. Also: for those who read this story a long time ago, this is the final 'segment' of the Prologue I had originally posted. This chapter is to end the story arc that explains the lead up to the Lylat Wars, and Apparoid crisis, and to a lesser extent, The Saurian Event. Please, take a moment, leave a review. Even if it's a hundred words that say, "You scared me for life with chapter 3 you fucknugget, BURN AND DIE IN A FIRE" - Well, I can live with that. I want honesty, people. I can't become good enough to write for a living if I don't get some honesty. This is amateur - for the love of it. But I do want to make this into a career, this is a work of passion, yes, but, I still NEED your honesty to make myself better. Be cruel if you must. But tell me. Tell SOMEONE. Talk about it.

The Nursery Rhyme in this chapter is a Anglicized spelled (based on their alphabet) rendition of the russian nursery rhyme, sleep-sleep-sleep. It's a lullaby. If you feel like googling it, you'll see, it's like most other rhymes. Needlessly violent.

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**Codex Entry: Lylat: Gear & Misc.: Medical: Nannites:** Nano-bots were once thought a 'medical impossibility' - a protein chain that thinks, reproduces, or any number of sci-fi mythological abilities, but, thanks to Andross Oikonny, they are a reality. Though they are rough, they are used extensively since their creation in 2160, shortly before Andross' Exile to Venom, They are easy to reproduce, and they can be programmed in nearly any fashion. They are extremely popular with mercenaries and Field Medics, and have saved countless lives - however, even a slight miscalculation in their programming can cause them to be extremely harmful in the long run. They are used more often the further out from the central worlds you are.

* * *

Marie's sleep was troubled. Pain laced her body, but she couldn't remain awake. The last thing she remembered was James Tiberian Oxian shoving a horse needle of sorts into her arm and injecting her with a load of medical nano-bots. They had been programmed for her specifically, but, still, it wasn't going to keep her going for more than a day and a half. That would be in Cornerian time. Miracles didn't come in vials. They came in dreams.

To say she was hallucinating would be putting it mildly. Her life was flashing before her eyes. Memories she couldn't remember came to her - perhaps it was just a memory of imagination, but, it was vivid. A sharp, true, even pressure across her body that eased, but filled her with a pleasant warmth.

* * *

_"You know, all you have to do, child, is walk through that pathway." Her mother, brave and noble as always. Marie Kusaru looked at her, unable to remember her face, and so all she saw was the blank impression of love. Marie looked the direction the faceless image of love nodded. It was a blank, glowing door. Completely unremarkable. According to myth, that meant it was the way to great treasure.  
_

_"But Mam mah, I don't want to." In the face of her mother, a war veteran who had saved life after life after life, she was nothing. A mere child. "I want to live."_

_"Child of mine, my heart and reason..." Her mother intoned, sweet mercy echoing from her form. "You know... Your friend, Marcus. He loves you. Is he your reason?"  
_

_"He... He can never know." She looked away, darkness occluding the door for a minute. "I want to see him again. He's nice and friendly and he's so good with all the stuff I'm not. Like dad was for you." Marie laughed, and the door brightened. "I mean, your cooking was awful, but Dad's is great."_

_"It is the truth. We find that which completes us. The Lost, the Driven. The Hopeless, the shepherd. The Mindless, the mindful. It is always this way. The Goddess wills it." She smiled, or at least, the light that was her face smiled._

_Marie sobbed. "I can't go, Mam mah! I can't! Daddy's going to go soon, and I can't. I can't go! Marcus needs me, and there's... there's more!" She shuddered in the dream, as though an intense cold washed over her._

_The dream mother figure smiled and knelt beside her. "I know. I speak with him often. But just know... if you don't go now... it will be a very long time, fraught with pain, before you can go again." The door cracked. Inside was every warm, holy moment in her life. Her first kiss, her family and the Love she had for them. Even Marcus' awkward greeting, wandering eyes, and intense blush. "Are you willing?"_

_"I... Can I rest here?" Marie looked at her. She was a mewling kit again, looking to her mother for guidance._

_"I can stay here, for a while... But not too long. If you sleep too long, You'll die, and never know your reward. If you go to soon, you will be in more pain than you know." The warmth of her love soothed the ache._

_"Can you wake me up when it's time to go?"_

_The dream mother smiled, and with a flourish withdrew a blanket of the softest, warmest feathers. She tucked her daughter into a warm, heavenly bed, and smiled. "The Goddess does not begrudge a warrior her peace." She smiled._

_"Can you... sing to me?"_

_The grin split the light, and in the place of that beautiful light, was her mother's face, soft, scarred, and beautiful. A strong jaw, and sharp, Macbethian features, angular and cut but without a slant. "Alright my little love..."_

_She inhaled, and in the softest, gentlest tremolo timbre tenor, she sang, "Bako-bakowyn-bako, He noxincar ha kapako, Nanponet cephebekem bonyok, En ykycnt aey boyok. Bako-bakowyn-bako..." She repeated it to make her daughter rest peacefully._

_For the first time since she made herself shut off her emotions to become a soldier, Marie cried._

* * *

James looked over at the injured cat. She was torn up. But he had done everything he could. He had to let her heal. He checked the temperature on his armor's readout. It was up to eighty in here now. He could risk a patrol. He popped open his wrist panel, and blinked. There was a Radar button. He hit it. Instead of it clogging up his HUD further (Which, it was already clogged up beyond all belief.) a wrist panel popped up and displayed a motion tracker. He grinned. He further adjusted his HUD, bringing up a targeting reticule linked to his gun, and a timer with a rather obvious temperature monitor.

He set the doors into the room to respond to his password only, and opened the door opposite where he entered. His pistol came up, and his assault rifle lent it's comforting weight to his back. With a swift motion, he stepped out and closed the door. The radiating heat from the door quickly dropped, and his armor's environment system beeped and hissed as it started a countdown. Two minutes and change. He quickly walked down the metal grate. His armor began to record his surroundings with a mapper program he activated, and he checked the first corner. A wrench banged in the distance.

His pistol came up, a full charge glowing in his grip. He kept the gun at the ready. Metal creaked from protest, hot on one side, cold as hell on the other. His chest twinged. He grunted. The hole where nano-bots were after he dug out the knife blade still ached, and the armor steadily pumped blood from his lung. He held back a cough, and turned the next corner. With a shriek, a blue-black void - he instantly recognized it as a fast moving chameleon - and he threw his shoulder into a pistol whip. The cutout's shielding hissed as his armor powered pistol whip broke through the lizard's shielding. Hot plasma hissed as it degenerated to gas quickly, the crack of his shielding sending a spike of hot air into James's armor, sending the guage on his timer up. He grinned wickedly as his pistol rammed into the side of the Chameleon's face.

The Chameleon's expression had been one of rage, but James' adrenaline burned through his guts, letting him see every minute reaction as the pistol slammed into the side of the lizard's face, snapped it's bones, shattered it's eye bones, splintered it's nose, and then emerged from the other side of it's face. From rage, to shock, to pain, to just plain dead. James enjoyed every moment of it. He reveled in the brutality of killing this son of a bitch who wanted to take something from him.

He panted in his armor, and turned on his heel. The cut-out against the metal walls that just looked slightly off raised it's hands, the motion giving it away. James' pistol barked, the dull 'thew!' sound firing off the glowing orb of magnetically contained light - A complicated process that could damage even star ships - But the Chameleon's shield glowed with a rainbow of colors as the blaster bolt slammed the lizard's shielding. It recoiled, and examined it's wrist as James unleashed another, less charged bolt - the rainbow flash engulfed it's shield again, but it still didn't break.

James began to rapidly pull the trigger, each press making a 'vweto' sound as a magnetically aligned light bolt erupted, these more arrow shaped than orb shaped. Each shot caused magnetic disruption in the Plasma Shield, and the Lizard visibly began to panic as the shield began to glow red with stress. "No! NO! NYAHHHHH!" - one last bolt slammed the shielding, and instead of the shielding erupting outward as one would think, the interior layer of shielding dissolved as the outer two layers began to fail. Lashes of plasma began to pierce inwards within the shield, slicing off the lizard's legs - then a plasma lash scored his chest, splitting it open. He screamed as James continued to fire, each blaster bolt causing a further malfunction, until, finally, the last bolt slammed the shield, and with a rush of hot air, it shattered. The Lizard inside fell down, lead as a door nail, his own flesh turned to glass and soup by the blaster's magnetic interference.

James sighed, grinning a bit, then twitched his ear inside his helmet. "Huh?"

Bullets slammed his plasma shielding, and he turned, a blaster Gatling gun was hammering him. His shield was already glowing. He dove around the corner, hissing as his armor squealed protests, a lash of plasma still shimmering across his abdominal plates. He sighed, and then blinked. The temperature warning on his armor was spiking. He looked back. "What the heck?!" The wall behind him was glowing, and a bright, powerful lance of light shot through the wall beside him, hissing against his shield, which visibly wavered. He fell to his feet and hands, forgetting his pistol as molten metal splashed down onto it, his furious steps and clawing run pushing him away from the wall, as the holder of the Gatling blaster rounded the corner, barrels still spinning. "DIEEEE!" James rounded the corner, pulling out his assault rifle as the air around him went from bright red, to a dull pink as his shielding recovered.

He checked the radar on his wrist. Two more were just around the corner. But the bad-ass with the bad-ass-er gun was behind him. He turned the corner, and his shield hissed, melding with the two Chameleon's around the corner, turning the entire mass of shielding an opalescent pale pink. He raised his right hand and opened his fingers, wrapping them around the female Chameleon's head. With a tight, viscious pull, he squashed her head. Brains erupted around his fingers, and an eyeball popped out and hit him in the face. With a turn, he pulled her up by her spine, but it failed to lift her weight. It snapped at the neck bones just above the spine, and he smashed his fist into her male compainion's face. It slammed into his face, and the spinal bones in his fingers shattered, slamming blades of bones through his fingers, and ramming them into his cheek. The male stumbled back as James panted, his armor flashing another warning - his armor's strength enhancing capabilities were spent. "Shit.." was all he said, as the mangled male chameleon stood back up, grinning, his cheek shredded.

The Chameleon was fast. A world rocking punch slammed his face, and James stumbled back, gagging on blood that erupted from his jaw as he bit into his lip and his nose began to bleed from slamming into his helmet. He coughed, and readied himself in a pugilist's stance. The chameleon flung his fist at James, who just bobbed his head to the side, and delivered a pair of devastating body blows, and growled as he reared his head back, and head butted the fist flying for his face. He was rewarded with a satisfying crack, and blood spilling across his visor. He didn't stop, instead, stepping in, delivering two left jabs, and then a left hook, hammering the unarmored chameleon. It's skin split across it's ribs, but it kept coming. James bobbed under a straight jab to his visor, and with a slick motion, came up with an open palm uppercut. It slammed into the chameleon's muzzle as it looked down, and with a sickening crack and 'shlunk' sound, the chameleon stopped moving. He heard the spinning sound turn the corner. "Fuck!" He pulled at his assault rifle, and readied himself to die - and then half of the Chameleon's face exploded in viscera, his shielding didn't even flinch, it just vanished.

Marie Kusaru stood in a heavy cloak, panting loudly, her body shuddering with pain as she held a 45 caliber hand cannon in her left hand. The bones in her arm had plainly shattered. She collapsed as James rounded the corner, panting. "Marie..."

"Yes." She said, standing up on her own power again. James nodded, and began to follow her as she opened the door nearby into the Garage. "This way. I checked the maps, We'll take one of the delivery trucks, loop through the city, and come back to the ship."

"You said you had some more information inside?" He held his rib, the suit supplying suction now that he'd taken so much more damage on top of a stab. It was harder to breathe, but the blood was flowing out across his armor in copious amounts. This was going to fuck him up even further. A bad back is one thing - a sucking chest wound is something else entirely.

"I do. It's yours once you get me there." She sighed. "I'm the only one with the codes to unlock the hard copy safe." She held her arm gently, wincing again.

"Good. Get in." He pulled open her door, and handed her the keys. She jumped into the cab, and turned the ignition over as he closed the door for her - complicated machinery caused nearly roasting hot air to pour into the cabin of the big truck, four seats and a pair of beds in the back. James hauled himself up the other side of the truck, and got in quickly, leaning back. He grunted as he reached down, and pressed on his broken ribs on the outside of his armor. Blood jetted out of the wound, and he exhaled a breath, bright, bubbling liquid shimmering across his armor. Marie tapped something on a wrist computer, and handed him a syringe. He nodded, and without any ceremony, jammed the tip of the needle into his armor, through the nannite weave, and into his flesh.

He exhaled through clenched teeth as he pressed the button, a hydraulic plunger forcing a large amount of thick as stew nannites into his wound again. He exhaled again, bubbling blood oozing out, and he inhaled deeply, his eyes blurring. "GAHHH! This hurts!" He exhaled hard again, more blood spilling, but significantly less this time as the nannites set about their business. He shook his head, removed the needle, and grabbed the steering wheel. "You gonna be alright, Marie?"

"... No. I'm not." She held her arm gently. "I'm really not."

* * *

They spent the moments in silence. There was no warm camaraderie. There were no admissions of past guilt or hidden secrets. Only A sense of 'The job is unfinished, complete it.'

They left the garage, and looked about. There was a furrow in the snow, leading into town. "Follow that." Marie said. James blinked. "Why?"

"Just a gut feeling."

He nodded, and did as she said. He followed her instincts – Because his as well, said something lie down that path.

* * *

_Marie Kusaru stood up, again. She'd just taken another world rocking blow to the face. The Drill Sargent looked at her. "You a glutton for punishment girl?"_

_"SIR! No SIR!" She held up her padded staff again, and readied herself for the next attack. "SIR! I want to be a marine, SIR!"_

_"That's good, kitten. You feel like bitchin at me cause you're a woman?"_

_"SIR! No SIR!" She felt her knee try to give, but she held fast. A bruise above her eye burst, blood smearing her fur as she glared at the black furred canine in front of her._

_"Really? Don't you think It's unfair that I'm being so rough on a woman?" The circle of recruits around them were mostly looking away, except for one of them. Marcus glared at the Drill Sargent, malice in his eyes, but he didn't move. He knew, this was how things went for a woman in the military. They had to put up with a lot more than the men did. They weren't weaker, but they were definitely more appealing targets. "WELL!?"_

_"SIR! I am going to be a Marine, SIR! Even if it kills me, SIR!" She finally lost her patience, and charged, swinging her staff like it was a bat, catching the Drill Sargent across the shoulder, and pushing him back. She didn't scream like she was panicking - but if she had known what was about to happen, she probably would have._

_Yolando Rimfur blinked as he was hit twice by the recruit he was supposed to be breaking. He twirled his staff, and blocked the next blow, following it with a viscous kick to her midsection, hitting her right in the womb. She gagged, and fell back, but he wasn't done. He stepped in, and swung, hard, with his staff, catching her on the bottom side of the chin, and sending her ass over tea-kettle into the dirt, her world upside down, inside out, and rightways left. He stood over her, then, kicked her square in the ribs. He reached down and grabbed her by the head, hauling her up, blood oozing from her lips. "Girl. I want you to understand. If I wasn't such a respectable man, The first time I knocked you down, you'd have been my little slut. The second time, I would have taken any thing you thought of as dignity. This is the fifth time. What's there left to take from you?"_

_"Nothing but my life." She said, woozily, into his face. "You'll never break my pride."_

_"... You're the most godawful beautiful maggot here. Wish half these boys had your nuts. Get the fuck out of my ring." He dropped her down, and she groaned, clawing her way out of the ring, to stand, balanced on her padded staff. "Who's next?" Yolando said, looking around._

_Marcus came out into the ring, as the rest of the men looked back into the arena. No one wanted to do it, now that they'd seen what Marie had gone through. She was crying tears of pain as she stood there, holding her stomach and barely balanced on her staff. They all blinked as the nerdy whip of a cat, Marcus, stood there, his backwards ass coloration making him stand out as he held his staff in a very odd manner._

_"You're next then, Maggot?" Yolando said, holding his staff like it was a spear.  
_

_"SIR! Yes SIR!" Marcus said, growling viciously, holding his staff like you would hold a sledgehammer._

_"You got something to say, Boy?"_

_"SIR, I do, SIR. I think you're a piece of shit. You know she landed three good hits on you in the first round, but you kept pushing." He snarled. "I understand the reasoning... But what I don't understand, sir, is why you had to keep kicking her when she was down." He readied his 'hammer' - "Sir, You're a fuckstick, SIR!"_

_"I'm going to enjoy beating the shit out of you." Yolando said, shaking his head. This bunch of fourteen year old snot nosed brats thought that just because he was told to break them meant he was going to be nice. You didn't turn 30 without knowing how to beat the chivalry out of a snot nosed brat._

_Fifteen seconds later, Yolando Rimfur looked up at a light in a hospital bed, blinking, wondering why his arm was bent backwards, and he felt his toe playing with his tail. "The fu..." The nurse smiled at him. "Turns out, Yolando, Marcus whooped your ass."_

* * *

An hour passed as they ran the truck through the city, following the only track on the ground. They spotted the bike that Grigori had ridden away from the space-port. "Stay here, Marie. I'm going to go settle up accounts." She nodded, half out of it anyway, still woozy and half dreaming from the pain and nannites.

Tiber jumped out quickly, running for the house. He used his armor's remote hacking protocol, and opened the outside of the air lock. He stepped inside and checked the blaster pistol he'd found in the truck. It wasn't as good as the one he'd lost in the base, but it would do. The interior door opened.

"Yeah, Just like that, you fucking whore. That what you do for my son?" He heard the wet sound of a knife, and a howl of anguished terror coming from below. He looked around, and spotted the door downstairs. "Now, I'm going to take you the way only one man will ever take you."

James stepped down just in time to see a beaten, slashed, and brutalized girl's throat be slashed open, a young chameleon behind the elder crying and sobbing, his knee blasted apart. She gurgled wetly as the naked, elder chameleon violated her, clearly using it to torture the younger one. Her Neck was quickly snapped by the brutal motions. James felt bile rise in his throat. Her eyes still moved. She hadn't died just yet. "That's what, your fourth hole tonight? Nice, slut! Still alive!" Then he saw motion as he began to rush down the stairs. The young Chameleon started to move. He hobbled along, his claws ready and a snarl on his face. James was trying to bring his pistol up, but the damn stairwell was horridly tight with his armor on. He watched in horror as the young man reached up from behind the elder chameleon.

"No! NO!" He reached ahead, trying to grab the boy – but the boy didn't listen, and instead, he reached up for his father, and grabbed at his throat. The Father grunted, and smashed at Leon's ribs. Bones broke. Leon looked at the woman's body in agony, and dug his claws in. His father grunted wildly, as claw tore flesh.

"The fuc – Guck! GUHCK!" The elder chameleon begin to suffocate on blood. But the younger one was not done. He ripped. And he tore. Rage propelled him. Vision faded from the girl's sight as she began to smile faintly, proud that the young one had finally stood up. She mouthed two words to the younger chameleon. The younger one screamed in agony as he kept tearing at the elder's throat.

Leon panted as his Father and Lover both died. He held the bones responsible for his father's speech in his hands. He crushed it with malice. Then he looked up, and saw a man in bulky armor trying to come down stairs. His armor was too big. His motions too clumsy. "Don't... I just... I need to leave."

The armor nodded, and tossed the blaster to Leon. Leon caught it, and turned the blaster on his father, who still weakly struggled for life. He put the gun to his head, and pulled the trigger, several times. James noted who it was. Grigori Polawski. Leon then turned to the red scaled chameleon woman beside him, and kissed her lips with a loveless respect as he put the gun to her head, and pulled the trigger. James blinked. "She was alre-"

"I KNOW THAT. She needed... She needed to... look like she... died before the... THAT MONSTER touched her ONE MORE GODDAMN TIME!" He shook his head. "I need... I need clothes... and to leave. Please. Take me away from this." He tapped the blaster to the side of his skull. James felt something tighten in his chest. Was it dread? Regret? He didn't know, but something in his head screamed at him. He had to stop the kid from doing that.

"Woah! Kid! Wait! There's a better way. Listen, Do you want stuff like this to keep happening?!" James held out his hand, trying his best to seem sincere and genuine. He didn't know if the kid could learn it, or even if he could really teach the kid that the obvious shit hole he lived in wasn't the way life was supposed to go.

"No! Don't you GET it!? There's no stopping this! There's no... controlling these kinds of things!" Leon pressed the gun harder to his skull, panting as he just hoped for the strength to just do it. He wanted it to be over with.

"There isn't! But you can control how long it happens!" James was thinking fast. He was trying to find some way to salvage what was left of the kid.

Leon stopped. He looked at the armor. "Really!? I can?!" His own shocked voice stunned him further into silence.

"Yes. But you need to come with me. I'm a man who's in charge of a group of people. People who can stop this kind of thing if they know about it." It was a blind, flailing attempt. _Come on kid, just listen to me!_

"Why didn't YOU know about it then!?" Leon felt rage well up inside of his chest.

"Because no one told us. Because I've been trying to keep an entire world from ending up like this." He made a motion to the Carnage. "Because Andross loves this kind of sick shit. You wanna fix it? Help us fix that son of a bitch. He was paying for your father's missions, paying for him to get broken like that." He could tell, he was getting though to the kid.

"... Then Teach me." Was all Leon said. He pulled the gun away from his head, and then, with a determined deliberation, put his pistol on the side of his father's body, and started firing. James just watched, and went back up the stairs to the elder chameleon's room. He gagged on the horrid pictures inside, but he began grabbing clothes. He quickly tossed them down to Leon as he crawled out of the basement, and he began wrapping his busted knee up with an old shirt.

"Get whatever you need, kid. I'll wait."

* * *

Leon and James piled back into the Truck. "Who's this?" Marie asked.

"Leon Polawski." James responded, putting it into gear.

"And we're taking him why?" Marie eyed the kid with distrust. he was holding a blaster, and dressed in two sizes too big clothes, staring at his mangled body like he was enjoying the pain radiating from his knee.

"Because he killed Grigori. And you don't really need to know the details, kitty."

She raised her eyebrow at James. "Tiber?"

"You just don't need to know." Something impacted the side of the truck. James looked back. A distortion in the blizzard was approaching him. "Shit! They're here!"

"Who is?!" Leon screamed, panicked. "Oh god, no! They're daddies friends! They're coming to kill me! I have to live! I have to stop men like him! Can't let them do what -"

"KID!" James said as Leon turned the blaster to the window, preparing to fire. A soft touch of a female hand stopped him. He looked at the feline woman who was eaten alive by the frost. He'd see women die like that. His father was cruel. But She had lived through it. Mostly.

"And you will." Marie said, as James gunned the engines. Leon sat back. "As long as I can stop them from... doing things like they did to you."

* * *

"Mark has escaped."

"Do they have the Package?" The voice responded in cold metallic tones.

"They do. Grigori is gone, as is old man Polawski."

"Good. Return to base after herding the sheep home." The voice cut the feed. The Voice's origin sat back, grinning wickedly. A few careless hints and information drops were all he needed to get Leon out of there. Andross sat back, smiling deviously. Yes. All was going according to plan. They would... REPAIR him... Fix his 'problems' and leave him a mind numbed wreck. That's what Cornerians did. They drained all free thought and responsibility from their thralls. He went back to viewing the Military Training camp – the feed given him by an inside source who'd taken incredibly little bribing to get. The bowman family, after all, loved their nephew. Andrew smiled at his Uncle. "Andrew, what do you think of the Grey Wolf there?"

"He's a great pilot. Perfect to head up my squadron."

"I thought so to. Of course he'll have to listen to MY Orders." Andrew said, proudly. Andross merely gazed at him with a wicked grin.

* * *

An hour later, after dodging ghosts in the methane blizzard, James Pulled up alongside the Space Vessel, pulling the two out, and running inside as Marie transmitted the access codes.

"Here. Plans for something Andross is building. He called it a Psychic Booster. It's based on Cernian Biology."

"Cernians?! Didn't he..."

"Yeah. But we think some escaped. It's both good and bad. We're trying to find them, but... Oh hell. My Skin just fell off."

James looked at Marie as she looked at her glove which had just been pulled off. The flesh of her arm was frozen to the inside of the glove. "Holy shit."

"Okay. That goddamn hurts. I'm going to med bay. Hey, you. Put the kid in some lodgings and make sure he gets some food and a drink. He looks kinda puny. And get a doctor to check up on him, too, he's kind of missing a knee." She looked at James Tiberius McCloud, aka, Tiber Oxian, Agent Black of Venomian Operations. "Take the files you need. And go home. You look like shit."

James snapped a shitty, half arsed salute. "Yes ma'am. Permission to see a medic? I did get stabbed..." He gathered up the hard copies, stuffed them into a backpack (Plasma shielded, of course.) and walked out of the ship's foyer after Patting Leon on the head. "Be good kid. Keep your eyes open, and trust your instincts." With that, he left, walking to the medic's office, surprised to find that it was almost empty. "Well. Fate's an interesting little bitch, ain't she?" He walked in and sighed, waiting to be stitched up.

* * *

He had driven the cargo van they'd stolen earlier home.

Inside, he found Fara curled up with the picture of her father, looking at the Picture of Vixy and Fox on his bedside. He grunted, and softly turned the photo down – like it always was. He walked back into the living room, and lit a cigar, poured himself half a glass of whiskey on two rocks, and started up the mock phonograph. The beautiful A Capella of a swan's song came through the speakers in a low warble. (The music in Lylat was almost universally A Capella. The majority of the population had the musical sense of an insect.) He fell asleep listening to it, whiskey half drunk and on the verge of spilling, cigar self extinguished in his hand.

Fara walked back out to see her bruised and battered godfather splayed across his easy chair, and shook her head with a laugh. "He's not dad... but he'll do for now."


	5. Broken Wings

**Great Fox, In orbit around Corneria, Two Years after the Apparoid Crisis**

Krystal sighed. Fox… Wasn't just Fox any more. Sure, their fling had been nice. It had been wonderful. He had saved her life, and she had to admit, her falling in love with him was mainly hero worship. But he was so mellow. So strangely inactive.

"Fox, come on. You haven't done anything for weeks. Let's take a little flight, out over Aquas!" She pulled at his hand as they watched the Cornerian sky below, A spiral cloud of a hurricane whipping through part of the Tropical Subcontinent, bringing rain to the fields. He sighed, and looked at her pointedly.

"Krystal, I'm worried about the fuel. You know as well as I, Cornerian peace is false. We're running out of fuel for the Great Fox as it is, and we're low on funds. No one ever contacts us about jobs." He left out the bit that she ate like she had a black hole in her stomach and two hollow legs. She could out-eat SLIPPY! And he wasn't round because he was a toad. Well, he was, but still… The boy could eat. He could eat A LOT.

Fox sighed heavily, running his hand through his hair, and continued. "Look, Krystal… I know you're itching to fly again, but we just can't do it. I mean, we have to be very concerned with money. I'm not going to let this ship fall into disrepair like it did before we got the Sauria mission. I'm still not proud of the poor living conditions we had AFTER it. The only thing that saved us was the Apparoid missions." His mind was awash in conflicting emotions – the truth of what he was saying rang hollow, even in his ears, and he knew she was a Telepath. She could have read his real feelings without even trying. He hated it, but he had to think it. It wasn't something he could bring himself to say out loud.

She could sense his thoughts. She grabbed a hold of the blue crystal necklace suspended from her neck to intensify her telepathy. Without it's aid, she couldn't read a mind... but she felt it too. She held back the tears as she sighed. "Stop lying to me Fox… Just STOP lying!" She looked at him with steel in her eyes. She couldn't bring herself to cry, to feel the pain that had torn her up for months now. She could count the moments... the days themselves were ringing hollow in her mind. They seemed so distant, and not as painful as she imagined. But still... Poke at an open wound, and it hurts. "You... You've felt it too, right? The feeling of... drift? The way we've been coasting along?" She was hurt. But not truly, truly wounded by this. It was going better than she hoped, but still it felt dragged out – overdue.

"I… I…" Fox sighed. "Fine. The whole truth. I thought I loved you. I thought you were the one. I thought you would make me feel like life was right and good." He got up, walking to the window, propping on it, staring at the raging storm down below. He could see the lightning flashing across the clouds as the storm intensified. "But you didn't. Being around you makes me remember who I am. I'm Fox McCloud. I'm the hero of the Lylat system. I saved your life. And I don't know… I just… I just can't be with someone like that." He looked back at her, hurt and pride ringing in his eyes. Hurt from the words... Pride from manning up and finally giving voice to his doubts. "I never wanted to be a Hero. I hate being public, I hate being so damned popular. I hate being Fox McCloud, the hero. And seeing you, every day, makes me remember it." He sighed, and sat back down in the chair, looking at her with sorrow – but understanding. The hadn't gone on a date in forever and a day.

She nodded her head. "Then drop me off on Corneria. I'll… I'll just stay out of your way." She kept quiet beyond that. It was said and done. But what he said next, cast both surprise, and doubt, over her face.

Fox slowly nodded his head. "I'm sorry, Krystal." He sighed, looking up at her with puppy dog eyes. She didn't need to hear it of course... but it felt right to say it.

"Don't be Fox. Don't worry with it. It happens every day on countless planets. It was good while it lasted, Fox. I've got no regrets."

He looked at her and smiled. "Neither do I. I am sorry though. It's me… I'm the one with no willpower." The sensation that he could – that he SHOULD fight to save the relationship was... astounding. Truthfully. But he knew, fighting for it... it'd just make the eventual break up that much more painful. He knew it couldn't last.

"You shouldn't have to make these things work, Fox. Thank you. For everything."

He nodded to her, and she left the room. Her tail was perfectly still between her legs. His head was hanging. The sting of being forced to say what he had known for nearly two months now was harsh. Harsher than he thought it should have been. Did he really love her? That was a question best left to destiny, it seemed.

Krystal laid back on her bed and stared at the roof. It was nothing but a bother to even bother with fighting against what her heart screamed at her. "He's not the one!" The slightly polished interior wall looked down at her sharply as it said it. "No… No he's not." She said back, and went to sleep. The tears didn't need to be cried. There was no need. No remorse, for no true love had existed, for her. It was just foolish hero worship. There wasn't a reason for her to be sad.

But why did it hurt so much to think about leaving the ship?

* * *

**Deep Space, Near the former Area Six, Six Months Later**

Wolf O'Donnell let his space craft drift the rest of the way into the small mining sector –Well, really, it was more Salvage than Mining. Leon and Panther had stayed back, often times as they did, to womanize and carouse – though, panther was beginning to settle down with his new girl. The fact that the cat couldn't have that blue fox girl – what was her name? Krystal? During her brief stay with the team – all in all, less than two months – Had made the damn panther Insufferable. Thinking back to Krystal - He had kicked her out after having one conversation with her. He did it in a way that was… subtle. She wouldn't make it with his crew. They were rowdy, rough people. He looked down at his sensors – apparently, someone had fired some chaff here long ago.

He leaned back. This was the perfect place. He closed his eyes, relaxing, for the first time in months. He let himself drift back in his mind, to his childhood – happy, smiling, and unburdened by the savageness of his current life. Back before he was a mercenary, working for the highest payer to make sure he could survive. He remembered the missions he'd been on. Then, he remembered all the people that had joined his crew. Leon Polawski, a truly disturbed man who'd worked with him when he first left the Mainstream, when he'd become a mercenary. Pigma Dengar, and Andrew Oikonny, forced upon him by Andross Oikonny. Panther Carusso, a Ladies man and ace pilot – and a rascal of the highest caliber. And Krystal.

Krystal... He purred a bit in the back of his throat, thinking back to her. Blue fur, violet eyes, sharp fangs and a sassy mind, sultry movements and beautiful curves. She was all woman. And she was sane. She was brilliant, he thought, then he laughed. "Too perfect. Wolf, you're sitting out here reminiscing about a woman who is just Too perfect. There's no way she's mortal. She's every guy's fantasy..." He mused. He shook his head and sighed. "Good job, Wolf. You're officially a long distance stalker, lusting after a vixen! I thought you were into bitches!" His reflection said to him.

People would have seen him talking to his reflection and thought him insane. But it was a coping mechanism. He was a bastard. To everyone, and everything. He let himself go out here, all alone. He let the man in the mirror take control. The man who was nice. The one who understood right from wrong – and gave a damn. The one who wasn't a blood sucking bastard, who lived off fear amongst the criminal elements.

"I was, But you know how that went." He looked at his reflection, and scratched his head a little, rubbing the eye patch over his face. The hollow socket beneath ached again, thinking back to Rin always made it sore. "I don't envy the man that ends up with that lunatic."

"Pfft. You know you loved it. The things she did to – and for – you are one in a million. She was a psychotic bitch, yeah, but she was a good bitch." The reflection glared at him accusingly. "Yer an idiot if you think she holds any sort of candle to the VIXEN you're thinking of. Get that Doe eyed look off your face, pup! Too young and hopeful when you get like this."

"Yeah, well, maybe I need to retire from the criminal lifestyle. Piss off some criminal element or another and then stop flying after they 'take me out of the game." He snorted. "You're too damn bitter. Too uptight." He looked around at space, and sighed. "You know... I've got this feeling. Like Karma is gonna catch up to me."

Then it happened.

On all six sides of his ship, the battle cruisers jumped in, ion cannons blazing. "What the Heck!"

He was struck, dead in space. A small, one person transport lined up for infrared communication, and Leon's smiling mug greeted him.

"Well Wolf. Seems you've been… disabled."

"Get me out of here." He said it calmly – something that always got to Leon. "Get me out of here, and I'll only cut off your tail."

"Big words, from a fang-less pup. Come on. Leave this garbage to rot."

The transport turned, the chameleon inside grinning wildly. The first step... Oh giddy day, the first step in a grand ball, the first step in his long, hard path to ruling the system. No, Perhaps... the UNIVERSE! He cackled madly, looking at the plans gripped in his scaly hand. "Oh yes, Andross... those plans you secreted away will finally see some use!" His cackling only got harsher.

* * *

Two days passed in the Wolfen. His systems were burnt out completely. The air was stale, the shielded life support failing because of lack of the repair systems. He was hungry, subsisting on his own urine for drinking purposes to conserve what little water he had, and the few rations he kept in his cockpit. He sighed, and leaned back, looking at the crystal clear stars. The image of his reflection looked at him, haggard and hurt. "... You know... I... I really am a bastard."

Then he felt the shock wave pass over his ship gently. The massive "Berserker" class ship jumping into system - He couldn't place what planet it originated from. – it was easily half as big as a Mother ship! The ship instantly gravity tethered him, and began to pull him into the oxy-bay.

Wolf gasped. He coughed. Fresh recycled air! He'd been blacking out for periods of an hour or more in that damn ship, barely able to salvage what air he could. He had been close to pulling out that pretty silver pistol he kept with him in his ship and blasting his brains all over the back of his Wolfen's Cabin. But here he was, on board a full Military Cruiser.

As Wolf passed out from the strain, he was thrown into the brig, and the ship Hyper-spaced, And Wolf was none the wiser...

* * *

**Military Base, Planet Unknown, Three months Later**

Wolf O'Donnell woke slowly in his cell. He stretched, and began his daily routine again. He'd been in the pen Before. But this time was different. It was a brig – and he was literally being treated like a guest – though he was kept in a cell. Peppy Hare – his apparent captor – had been treating him with respect, so he didn't cause trouble… besides, even if he WAS a prisoner, he wanted to act like he was at least a respectable POW.

He could smell something in his future. It smelled like... Fish, honestly. The stinking smell of a big fat Zoness Flounder, that had been cooking on the spit of some dumb ass off worlder. And then left baking in the sun for a month. And shit on by a Sea Hawk. Something STANK of bad Karma. Three months in this hole, on his best Behavior hadn't eased his boredom. Every two or three days, there was a different smelling guard... but they all had the same build. Smelled a bit different. Always smelled sick. But the stench was a bit different every time.

Peppy Hare himself showed up in the middle of the hour, chatting amicably with a nearby guard. As he stopped chatting with the guard, he looked into the cell, and watched Wolf closely. "You're Dismissed." He said quickly, the guard saluted, and dashed back to his post. Peppy nodded. "Hello, Wolf.."

He continued doing pull ups. "Hello." He said simply.

"Wolf. I have an offer for you."

"I won't be a Guinea Pig."

"I'll see to it that the O'Donnell family funds are unfrozen." Wolf stopped at that. He had over sixty seven million frozen up by the military – minus interest. Enough for a personal Cruiser, and A Customized Fighter. Acctually, more along the lines of a personal cruiser, five or six customized fighters, and a full component of armaments – or a personalized android.

"… What do you want?"

"Your bad eye."

"Huh?"

"You see, I have a friend – A man in Lylat Central Intelligence Agency."

"Lisa?" Wolf Shorthanded it – it was merc code for 'good paying job.'

"Aye." Wolf dropped down and leaned against the bars. Peppy continued. "It's highly experiemental. Top of the line stuff. But it's very, very experimental."

"What's wrong with it?" He leaned on the bars of the cell, looking at the rabbit with his one good eye, his eye patch covering his bad easily – the last reminder he wore of crossing paths with James McCloud.

"It connects to a Lylan brain."

He blinked.

"What do you mean?"

"Just that. I have a friend who's a cybernetics Expert – and most Cybernetics have to have an AI implanted WITH the system, to regulate it. You know that, because that's why you turned down an eye, correct?"

"Yeah… But what do you want me to do with it?"

"I want to give you your eye back, Winston… James was a good man;" He ignored wolf's unpleasant scoff. "But, when he snapped at you, he did irreparable damage. Your eye was your life line then. You were in line to be the best sniper we ever had." Wolf kept smelling that same fishy stench. Maybe the rabbit just ate fish or something... But he didn't like it one stinking bit.

"Tell that to him now. Bastard took my eye because of an ignorant question… Plus, he's the one who lead the raid that destroyed my families' Weapons Factory."

"I never knew what you asked."

"What's it like, to lose almost everything you love?"

"… You asked him that?"

"I was young and dumb. I deserved to lose my eye… But not my family."

"That wasn't his decision. He was still in the Military."

"Doesn't matter." Wolf waved off the line of questioning. "So, you want me to wear a prosthetic eye?"

"Not Prosthetic. Lylan-Cybernetic."

"Meaning I would control all functions?"

"Yes."

… Wolf thought it over quietly. It took him nearly an hour to decide, Peppy just standing there, watching him exercise. The Rabbit grinned inwardly. So much like Fox… yet so Dark, and Tortured. "I'll do it."

"Good. Come to the Med bay." He opened the cell, and waited on the Mercenary Wolf to come with him.

* * *

**One Month Later, Zoness, O'Donnell Arms Ruins**

Wolf O'Donnell looked at the three small headstones, sighing. They didn't have their own graves in the city graveyard. This rotted hunk of lazer burned glass and steel had served as their grave marker for years. Of course, Wolf, now, looking at the three headstones – His Father, grandfather, and his grandmother – now felt the remorse for his loss like a sharp knife, slashing into his heart and pulling it out inch by painful inch. He sighed, loud and long, as he heard the sound of an approaching vehicle. He turned around, looking at the road to the ruins – he couldn't tell how many there were, but, a group of young punks – mostly Wolves, like most Zonessians – were accelerating up the short slope. As they saw him, they began to whoop and holler. He sighed. "Idiots..." The group of boys and girls let their bikes swing around him in a circle, hooping and hollering as they tried to intimidate him.

As they slowed down, and got off, they yipped and yowled, howling at him, banging their bats on ruined pieces of metal, slapping chains against the ground, trying to spook him. Then they got quiet as a really tall and burly son of a bitch came up, his black fur barely showing up in the dim forest light. Wolf didn't even look up at him. "Looky here, looky here! Someone let their feral get loose, eh boys?"

"Nah, boss, it's probably that kid from school. What's his name? Maxwell?"

"Oh, Mackerel, huh? Think you're all big and tough, mackerel?" The boss flipped Wolf's hat off, and suddenly, they all got quiet. They looked at him, wondering who the fuck this guy was. "What're you doing here, old timer?"

"Old timer? I'd like to know what a bunch of high school fuck ups like you are doing on my property?" Wolf raised his eyes to the boss of the gang gracefully – the kind of motion that threatens people. The movement of a predator, sizing up his prey.

"YOUR Property? Feh, bull shit, This is Razor territory!" He heard the gang hoop and holler. "You're a little lost, old man! You need to get back to the -Ghuck!-"

Wolf tightened his grip around the bigger, heavier man's throat as he slowly lifted him off the ground in one hand. The rest of the gang snarled loudly, and geared up to charge – but they backed off when they saw the blaster pressed against the side of their Boss's head. "... Feh. Waste of ammo." He muttered, and tossed the blaster one way, and the kid another, his cloak opening up, and revealing the wolf underneath as he got low and began to charge, undoing his cloak's clasp as he ran towards one of the kids. The young man he rushed took a healthy, hard swing for his head – but he didn't expect Wolf to go on all fours, and then leap onto him. The Poor, unsuspecting youth screamed in agony as he felt Wolf bite clean through his ear as he delivered a bone cracking punch right to his stomach. The kid lost his wind as he went over backwards, the older, more experienced Wolf O'Donnell jumped off of him, and barely pulled himself into a standing position, looking at the others in the circle he'd just broken. The boss staggered up, holding his throat. "GET HIM!" He screamed. Wolf smirked.

A chain came in from his right, but Wolf just let it wrap around his arm and snap against his Leather Duster's sleeve, and he snagged the chain with his hand, pulling the kid close to him as he raised his left leg, and smashed the kid in the side of the face with a Roundhouse kick, leveling him cold in a single move, then he pulled the chain free of the brat's grip, smirking. Another reached him, swinging his Baseball Bat like a madman. Wolf Ducked the first swing, and snarled as the second barely pulled at the leather. He got ready to swing the chain to hit the kid's legs, but another chain, held by one of his assailants, came smashing across his back. Leather might help cushion the blow, but damn that still hurt.

He Snarled, taking a swing of the bat to his right arm. It stung, but the kid swinging had very little real technique. His roll with the hit got him off easy, just a really bad bruise. He ducked the chain again, and jumped, barely dodging the Batter's swing for his legs. He shot his hand out, catching the batter in the face, HARD, with a quick backhand punch, sending him stumbling away. He grabbed the Chain kid's elbow as he prepared to swing again, and pulled him to the right, putting him right in line with another brat's swing with the steel piped – it caught him across the face, and sent him down quick. Wolf snatched at the Second downed kid's chain, pulling it tight and using it to block the Pipe a second time, and then wrapped it up to pull the pipe out of the Kid's grip – he stumbled back, even before wolf snapped the chain at him twice, across each knee. The kid dropped, and grunted, too surprised to feel the pain – and truly shocked as the older wolf pulled on the chain, sending the pipe Rotating into the pup's chin, knocking him out cold, simultaneously releasing the Chain to his grip, so that he had a pair of the heavy metal lengths.

Wolf snarled, backing up, slipping into a fighting stance this time. "Really unfair, Ain't it, pups?" He smirked, and tossed the two chain lengths aside, and raised his hand. "Come on then." He beckoned them on with a motion of his hand. They screamed, and charged again, holding their weapons like they were the extras about to get their asses kicked in a kung-fu movie. Wolf just laughed. His thoughts were barely gracing the surface of his mind as he watched the movements, muscles acting on their own. _First kid, chain, high to the right, duck, right hand to the sternum, sweep his legs, step to the right, turn with left backhand, smash second in the ear – missed. Compensate with duck and sweep to the right, take down the third. Two steps forward, left to the rib cage, right to the lower stomach, fourth – Ghck! Pipe, barely missed. Roll out, regroup! _Wolf snarled as he came up from his roll, mind still sizzling with the training he had received as a child.

The next kid to come in was just screaming his head off, trying to smash the older, more experienced wolf across the face with his pipe – but seeing it in your head, and actually hearing the savage bark of a furre cornered by a group of kids were two totally different things. And of course, what's worse, is feeling the selfsame wolf wrap his fangs around your neck, and squeeze hard enough to bruise and hurt, but not tear the flesh, and then feeling his left hand smash right in your chest, sending you backwards, fur barely able to hit the ground before you smashed into two of your buddies behind you is completely, completely different. The kid Shrieked in terror as Wolf gnashed his teeth again, sending the trio of kids nearest him reeling back.

_Lul in the action. Breathe. Inhale... exhale... Move! _Instinct ripped through him as the boss of the gang fired his blaster right next to Wolf's body, the more agile, older lupine looking at the kid incredulously. And then, Wolf started to growl. "Oh FUCK!" One of the kids near wolf said, smelling the scent spike in Wolf's body. It wasn't fear. It was FURY.

Kids screamed as Wolf cut loose, bloody instincts roaring to the surface. Tempered only by the O'Donnell sense of justice, Wolf had turned into a killing machine. Two instincts roared through his mind ,the only things driving his combat trained body. _Protect the pack. Protect yourself._ After that, his mind was utterly blank. His motions were concise and brutal, powerful and unrestrained. Thinking in a battle got you killed. And Wolf was the poster child of blind fury. Guided less by sight and more by smell and sound now, he could smell the fear – the scent of an animal pissing it's self is sheer terror, the sound of every excited heartbeat around him.

"ROAAAARRRR!" The lion's roar of a battle call alerted him to a new combatant. He instantly stopped his pursuit of the nearest, bratty punk, and turned, an older, fitter Lion, male and furious, charged him. But Wolf had lost himself to the predator's instinct. The movement was brutal, and the attack, nearly fatal. The lion had his claws out, readying a broad slash at Wolf's face, but the kid wasn't braced for a counter attack, like a fool. Wolf ducked down, and spread his jaws wide as he lunged up, his claws readied and locked, smashing into the younger, and vastly stupider, lion pup's ribs, knocking the air out of him as his jaws smashed into the kid's throat, leaving puncture wounds and bloody trails as wolf rolled with the kid's jump, planting his combat boot right in the brat's manhood, and sending him flipping head over heels over his back. Wolf Continued his roll as he released the kid, and came up on all fours, charging the biggest, most challenging prey he could spot. The blaster bolt ripped through his left shoulder, scorching bone and flesh as Wolf let the ecstasy of the hunt overwhelm him.

This was it – the kill stroke. The _Coup de grace_! He rushed against the big wolf, who suddenly screamed in terror. Wolf smirked. Blood rushed through him like a torrent, a parade of life's force pulsed under his claws as he leapt onto the young man, and bared his teeth, lunging for life's sweet, sweet sustaining liquid, but as he prepared to issue the kiss of death, to tear his fangs into the pup's throat, and shake him like he'd shake a game rabbit, he stopped. He panted, loud and low, his fangs, as sharp as a tack right now – or, at least, they felt that sharp against the pup's pulsing, fevered throat – wouldn't close. The predator in him screamed for dominance, tearing for the surface, screaming, scratching, clawing, tearing at the uppermost layers of his mind – and then, silence. His mind rested. Easy. Silent. Quiet.

The sound of a voice reached his ears as the sound of his pulse... and the pulse of his prey... faded away. "Pleasedon'..." The stench of fear assailed his nose, and he snarled, silencing the boy. He slowly stood up, looking at the kid. "Shut up." he said quietly, the battle-high fading as he locked away the predator he'd let himself become. "You don't get to speak to me. You don't get to beg for you - "

"DIE!" The kid pulled the blaster up, ready to fire – but wolf was faster. The kid gurgled as he fired the gun wildly into the air, his arms gripped at the elbows, broken apart as wolf berried his claws between bones, and tightened his fangs to the point he felt the kid's larynx snap – HARD. Then, Wolf shook his head. The boy screamed. He shook harder. The scream took on a bloody, wet tone, the sound tore though his body, and wolf jerked his head up, pulling the younger wolf's throat out. He panted, blood covering his muzzle, as the young man expired. Wolf sighed, and closed his eyes. "... Another dead, on these grounds..."

Wolf looked at the small pile of rocks, and the piece of wood, carved by his claws in Venomian Kanji. "A life, too soon taken, for his own folly. Rest peacefully." Wolf read it back to himself, and sighed. He couldn't take a life like had just then. Never once in his dreams had he done something... so foul. His fangs... his mind... his very soul had betrayed him. The predator within had emerged victorious. But the part that made him sick... is that the primal, savage side of his mind, hadn't been what killed be boy. _I remember. I remember what I thought when I shook him as I tore his throat open. I thought... that he was too young. That he was just a fool, caught up in his own ego... but... Now, I know who he was. A son. A brother. A man who had his problems. He was sick in the head... but that gave me no right. It's different, in war, as a mercenary... I always thought that... but now... Am I really so different? Am I supposed to excuse myself, with pretty words on a stick? I took that man's life. But, it was kill, or be killed... I can't forget... and I won't forgive myself... So I will remember. I will not ever CHOOSE to take a life like that. I..._

He sat down, and cried. The other, more reasonable, more factual side of him knew. It wasn't a choice he made. It was the Kid's choice. The young man made the choice for him. The savage, the hunter within acted to preserve his own life, rather than show mercy to another predator who would not leave his territory. But still... Wolf cried.

* * *

**Two years, Three Months Later, Venom, The White King Pub**

Krystal sighed, and straightened the button up shirt she wore, frowning at the fact that it left next to nothing to the imagination. She also missed her necklace – It had been destroyed in a rather nasty incident with a shower head and exploding water pipes.

She was a rather well endowed Vixen. She always had been. But male foxes never really gave her a second glance. She had a bit to much to bring to the table, and her muzzle had always been a bit different. She, as far as other Foxes were concerned, wasn't a fox. But cats ALWAYS howled at her, and most dogs and mutts gave her a good look. She adjusted her pants, and wagged her tail a little. She still looked good in this suit. A year of serving drinks in this middle class bar was still paying the bills, but she missed flying with a PASSION!

"Krystal! Come on, these beers aren't going to serve themselves!" She quietly huffed, and walked out of the bathroom. "Coming boss!" The large white tiger nodded at her, and motioned to the front. "Get serving. I don't pay you minimum and tips for nothing." The Seven dollar Minimum wage, plus the forty to fifty dollars an hour in tips was one of the best jobs she could get. And best of all, the tips went right into her pocket. And it was a steady job. The Venomian bar was all that she needed to live comfortably. The leers didn't bother her much, either. She'd dealt with worse.

The first thing she served was a three dollar margarita, which the guy gave her a five for and waved off the change. She herself was a sucker for a good margarita. She couldn't help but lick her lips a bit whenever she saw one. The next was a six pack of long necks for the table, a twelve dollar purchase, with a twenty dollar bill. The gentleman smiled, and she gave him two dollars, and reached for a five to finish making change, but was waved away. She smiled, and winked as she pocketed the fiver, and walked back towards the bar, away from the table, picking up a tray of food to deliver to a couple in the corner booth. The night continued on like that for nearly two hours. Just another day at work!

As the night dwindled down, and the Terra former workers stopped trudging in to drink off the heebie jeebies everyone on this planet seemed to get because of all the ghost stories, she spotted a familiar face. Wolf O'Donnell. The famous mercenary. His was still a criminal, but no one gave a damn on Venom – at least, she assumed he hadn't cleared his name. She still regarded the two month period she'd flown with him some of the best times of her life – not restrained with laws, working from paycheck to paycheck as a soldier for hire, with very little in the way of morals. He had kicked her out for her safety. She appreciated the gesture, but it still left a bad taste in her mouth – She was a capable pilot, and a damn good ground warrior.

She knew the REAL reason he had kicked her out though. He didn't know at the time, she didn't think, but she knew. He had been sniffing a bit more than usual when he came around her. He'd been looking at her a bit different. She could tell. The man liked her. Didn't matter that he never once guessed she was telepathic until he'd kicked her out of the squadron, and she answered a question he hadn't asked. She never really talked to him, except for the one time. He was a really intelligent, and wise individual. Bit of a bad ass complex, though – even if it was a well deserved one. She waved off her co-worker – another waitress. Krystal rarely did it, so the girl shrugged, and let her have the stranger in the cloak and tight drawn felt cowboy hat.

He barely looked up from under his hat as she took his order. "Margarita, on the rocks, heavy salt on the rim." She didn't think he noticed who she was when she said "Coming right up." In her usual voice, the one he had heard. His ear did twitch however. She noticed he didn't have a piece of cloth looped around it, as he normally did. "Oh, and virgin, if you please." She hadn't even gone for the Alcohol, knowing he drank his drinks Virgin – she felt it before he said it – and she remembered it. She slowed down a bit as she did make it, thinking... She didn't remember things like that about Fox... well, she did... but, she knew more about Wolf from that one night of chatting with him than she ever did, in the whole three years she spent with Fox.

She shook it off, and made the liqueur free drink. She had drank with him the one time they had talked, and she had remembered it all. The night was a bit foggy, yes, but she remembered the word virgin from his mouth twice, once to order, once to ask. Both had been a yes. "Boss, I'm taking off early!" he grunted approval. "You're good. Don't worry about cleanup." With that, she made herself a margarita, and payed for both of the drinks. She sat down beside cloak-and-dagger, mister Wolf, and smirked. "No hello for an old comrade?" He kept his eyes under his hat.

"Don't know who you are. Only girl I know that looks like you would never serve booze in a bar." Damn, it was her. He remembered. That scent. That damn scent that bothered the HELL Out of him. The one that said, _bend her over, take her like a bitch, mark that beautiful vixen, and make her YOURS!_ Of course, he never listened to his inner pervert – But damn if she didn't bring out the worst in him! Well, not the worst. She made him so... He couldn't place it.

"Pays better than flying a fighter jet, that's for damn sure."

He merely grunted. "What have you been up to then?"

"Been working. Terra forming, got sick from the air quality here on venom. Couldn't handle it. Worked in a Hotel for a bit, between jobs, Tried stripping, then came here. Long two years. Miss the old work."

Wolf nearly snorted out his gulp of Margarita, and looked up at her, the cowboy hat he was wearing still concealing his eyes. Or eye, really. "The Krystal I knew would have never shaken her tatter tots. At all."

"The Krystal you knew was dead a long time ago. I thought about running back to Fox, just to get some wings back… but no. Just no. I'm not going to go back and deal with him. He's a moron. I'm a vixen. There's just no real way it would work out. Besides. Living on the Great Fox was the best bit of the job. I don't think I could give it up a second time."

He grunted. "Speaking of Fox… Know what happened to him?"

She sighed. "Dropped off the Radar a couple months back. Haven't seen him since. Haven't been looking, either. I'm pretty happy here. It's a decent enough town, and I can beat the shit out of anyone who tries anything funny. It's... good. Boring, But good. I like it well enough to be happy with it."

"You should be. This looks like it's treating you better than the mercenary business ever did."

"I miss it sometimes."

"Everyone does… Especially me. Trained under General Pepper, Fought the apparoids, Was in one of the best damned star fighter squads in the galaxy. Yeah, we fought for the best paying guys, every time, but still… I miss it badly. Living out of a Suitcase while you're hiding from the law doesn't really fit too well with me."

"Hey... if you need a place to stay for a while, I'd be happy to let you shack up with me. It's not any trouble, besides. It's boring as hell at home. It'd be good to have an old friend around."

"Er..." He looked at her. She could see, his right eye was mechanical now. She smiled. Wolf was torn – he'd been out of doors for a good long while. He decided to go for it."Sure you'll have a ghost?"

"Of cou... what? A Ghost?

"I'm just a ghost from a time long past. Not having my wings… It's changed me."

Krystal laughed, finding his words funny, somehow. Well, she knew it wasn't a joke, so, she laughed anyway. She thought it was rather funny, considering his steel gray fur and current cloak-and-dagger getup, which made him SEEM like some kind of ghost. "Come on then. Let's go."

"What, right now?"

"Yeah, come on. Let's get you shacked up."

He shrugged, drained the rest of his drink, matching Krystal gulp for gulp, and stood, smiling. He'd seen her pay. Two years, three months was a long ass time. He'd been chased off two other planets already, so he laid low here on Venom... But Krystal... Krystal he could trust. It'd be a great way to avoid trouble with the law. His money was no good right now. It was unfrozen, yeah... He didn't quite get how it worked, anyway – but his money couldn't buy him out of the deep shit he'd buried himself in in the years before.

Krystal smiled, walking back to the employee rooms. She walked back out in a Leather Jacket and a helmet, holding up another, a simple black one. Hers had a red wolf face plastered right in the center of the back, with blue Fox Tails surrounding it. He blinked a bit at that. He kept his mouth shut, but it couldn't keep his mind from jumping around at shadows.

As they walked out side, wolf looked around. He expected her to drive sissy little moped... Instead, the Blue Fox disappeared around the side of the building, and he heard he walking back heavily – and he blinked. Even in Cowboy boots, the woman was pushing a huge fucking David Harlestone Motorcycle. And not just ANY David Harlestone – this was a classic, a real beauty. It still had wheels, not those sissy ass repulsor lift smooth-gliders they put on Motorcycles now. It even had a Bitch Seat on it. It was the one and only, Bob Cat model. "Holy shit..." he said slowly, feeling his tail fluff with excitement.

"Huh? Oh, My bike?"

"Yeah... your bike... Holy shit, Krystal. This thing is worth an EASY Six million with a collector. You'd be able to get a whole fucking building built in your honor if you donated it..."

"Huh? Really? I never knew. I just found it in a Junk Yard. I used to have a Motocross bike back when I was still figuring things out about this place." she shrugged. "I fixed it up, had to get Bill Grey to help me. He even paid for it. Said something about he'd never get a chance like this again."

"Never get a chance? Hell, Krystal... This thing... By _Luna_, it's... Krystal, this thing is probably the oldest fucking Bike in EXISTANCE! That it still runs is... gods... amazing..." He knelt down. He liked two things in life. Planes... and Bikes. He had a similar model to this back on Zoness, as a pup – drove it like a bat out of hell then too – some things died hard in a wolf. This was one of them. He whistled lowly. "Remind me to count my blessings tonight. A place to shack up and a ride on the most bad ass thing on two wheels..." He blinked a bit. "Wait a tic... How the hell are you PUSHING that thing? It doesn't LOOK Like you have the muscles to handle it..." he muttered.

"Trade secret, Wolf. A Woman doesn't give away ALL her tricks so easily. Let's just say I'm... a bit... special." She smiled. She's been stronger ever since she'd lost that damned crystal, but lost her 'mind reading' ability – though she still retained her childhood training in reading facial and physical cues.

"Duly noted, Krys." He said. He stood up, and took off his hat, grumbling a bit. She laughed, and opened up the saddle bag on the bike, and he stashed it with a grin, pulling on his helmet. She smiled at him, and he mounted up behind her, grinning wickedly. She smirked, putting on her helmet, and cranking the engine with a quick turn of the key. He involuntarily panted in his helmet.

He wrapped his hands around her waist, not even GIVING a damn that he was on the bitch seat. She smirked, and hammered down on the throttle. He nearly shit at the speed hit him. You could hear the howling on the other side of town.

* * *

Wolf stepped off the bike, pulling off his helmet and grinning wickedly. "I'll be damned. That was great. Your helmet have an air filter?"

"Yeah. Otherwise, I couldn't ride. When I first pulled it out of the Junk Yard, I assumed it was repulsor bike... But, as you can see, I was so wrong. I am -SO- happy I was wrong."

He laughed, following her up the stairs as she shook her head, letting her head fur come out of the bun she had it in for work. He cut short a quick growl, making it sound a bit like he grunted. She heard him, though, and she could read his expression. She knew, he liked it. But she could tell he had something else on his mind. She laughed. He was fighting down the urge to say something. "Out with it." She said, smiling.

He blinked. "What the heck?" He stopped as she stepped to the top stair, and looked back.

"I'm a telepath, Wolf... didn't you know?" She blinked, looking as honest as possible. She may not be able to read minds... but reading men was easy.

"Uh... no? How was I supposed to know that you read minds?"

"Oh. Well, I just assumed you did. I'm sorry."

"Nnh. It's cool." He said. Couldn't fault her for not saying something like that out loud – especially when she always DID That, answering questions he never asked – he stopped. She never directly answered a question he thought at her – more like... knew he had a question. "But yes... Deadlocks would make your hair look... rather exotic." He said, walking up the stairs again. She popped open a nearby door and laughed.

"My house is your house, for a bit. Come on in. We'll work out the details then." She said, stripping off her jacket – and surprisingly, her shirt. Wolf turned the corner to the room as he shut the door to see her putting down her keys and pulling a billfold out of her right ass pocket, with her shirt hanging off her elbows, and blinked as she stripped it the rest of the way off, wearing her jeans and an A-frame.

"I would think you were a bit more modest..." he said halfheartedly as she looked back to hear him speak. "I'm normally naked around here."

Wolf suddenly moved his hand off the table.

Krystal laughed, hard, and smirked at him. "Oh relax. It's nothing big. Seesh, you act like seeing belly fur is a big deal."

Considering his whole SPECIES was considered the most primal race in the galaxy, yeah, it was a big deal, Wolf thought. She blinked at him. Subtle signs – He was uncomfortable. "I trust you, Wolf. You've got a bigger heart than you let on, and you're a better man than most. I could get completely naked, and the only thing you'd do is talk with me and stare at my tits."

"What the Heck? Krystal, come on, that's just cruel!"

"Hey, I'm just an honest woman." She said, and trudged back towards her bedroom – Wolf could smell things in there that made him want to go … well... He mentally noted the location of the Water Closet with a huff. "You going to bed?" He asked as he ambled through the apartment, looking at the walls. Pictures of planes... and a few of classic bikes. All of them paper photos, instead of digipics or holostands. She walked back out, finding him quickly. "No. Hope you don't mind if I decide to get at least a little comfy." She was in the A-frame still, but her pants had changed to a pair of Daise Dooks, the tie-tail kind made of cotton.

Wolf looked her over before taking off his cloak and leaving him in a t-shirt, bomber jacket, and a pair of blue jeans. Button tailed, of course. He blinked as he realized... she could tell what he thought.

"Oh please, like you haven't heard worse."

"... I've heard things that would make you blush... but that was a first, Wolf." She laughed, and shook her head, honestly enjoying it – playing with a man's head could be such fun – although she didn't bother to correct him on the nature of her telepathy, before turning and using her tail to motion him with her. "Let's make some dinner."

Wolf half frowned, half smirked, she could read his stomach, apparently. "Is there anything you DON'T Know about me?"

"Your past." She answered plainly as he folded his cloak and put it on the side table beside the couch. She was clanking things around in the kitchen, and he decided to take off his jacket – one of the few things he had left from his youth on Zoness – and he smiled. He looked good in this T-shirt. He walked into the kitchen, smiling. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Tell me a story. I've got the KP handled. I'm a fair hand at cooking."

"I really don't like to talk about my past."

"Neither do I... But Wolf. I barely know you as is, So, humor me. Call it paying for the room and board."

He laughed, and sat down, she looked at him calmly – but he noticed her ears get stiffer and her tail wag a bit quicker. Oh yeah. She may could read minds, but Wolf could read body language. She was checking him out. "Alright, alright, I'll dish." He smiled. "I'm Wolf O'Donnell, of the O'Donnell Wolf Pack, Zoness. My Ancestor was Windsor O'Donnell, creator of the 'Ballistic Mass Propulsion System,' otherwise known as the Gun." she blinked, and looked at him.

"Doesn't that mean you're incredibly wealthy, good looking, and a general bad ass?"

"Wouldn't know about good looking, but, a wealthy bad ass, yes, if you consider money wealth." He smiled, and adjusted his combat boots on his feet. They were comfortable, but they sometimes made his feet a bit sore. Happened when he'd wore them for days at a time. He began unlacing them. "Anyway, my father was Joesph O'Donnell, you ever seen any old Holo-flicks of him?"

"One or two. Looks very similar to you, `cept he's brown and gray." She said, stirring the hamburger meat, and looking at the directions of the Katina styled Hamburger Helper. "Double Taco fine with you?"

"That's good. Whatever you feel like chowing on is good with me." he said, pulling off his boots and sighing. Damn that felt good. He peeled off his sock, but stopped at his heel, discreetly sniffing. He took good care of his feet, but, really, he hated when they smelled. They were clean, though, so, he stripped off his socks, and doshed them in his boots. He leaned back in the chair, and smiled. "He put his fortune with Grandpa's, and they together, had about forty million just stashed around the system in banking accounts – thirty million in liquid assets as well, stored in caches on Zoness. I've been living off that thirty my whole life. Used it to pay for my first plane, and, well, used the money from the missions I flew to keep it up to date, till I was on Venomian Payroll."

"I see.." She said. "What about your mother?" She opened up the can of beans and began to heat them up as well.

"Mom? She was... an actress. Still alive, somewhere. She was on set when the military bombed our house. Disowned me, disowned the name, and started living as her pseudonym. Shiva Shimmer." Krystal blinked.

"Sounds like a Porn Star name."

"Nailed it in one." She blinked, and glanced at him. He shrugged.

"Pa was cool with it. Mom and me were good friends, up until the bombing. Grandpa didn't like It, but, his first woman had left him because he had his nose buried in his guns instead of her modeling career."

"Sounds like your family has a nack for picking the good ones."

"Tell me about it. The one time I had a serious relationship, the girl was a complete nympho schitzo freak." He said, laughing. "She was named Rin O'Riley, and she was possessive as all hell. Bitch tried to stab me once, when I told he the truth. Her words exactly, "I'd rather you lie to me and make me FEEL Better, than EVER tell me the truth if it'll hurt!" And, I decided I'd leave. Lying isn't something I enjoy, at all."

"I see. Well, Fair's fair." She turned around with the hot food and set it on the stove, pulling out some nachos from a cabinet, and plates and she pulled out some off brand colas from the fridge, setting the table, even as wolf tried to – she fixed him with a stink eye that fluffed his tail with just a glance.

"Shit. What a stink-eye."

"Well practiced." She said, smiling. "But anyway, Fair is fair." She sat down, and wasn't shy about piling her plate high with food. Wolf did the same, not shy about it either. "I was born on _Cernia_, an Out system Colony." She laughed a bit at that, Wolf did too. He sipped his coke as he chowed down. Krystal did the same for a moment before swallowing, and continuing.

"Anyway, Fox never asked, but, he always thought I was some savage, tribal woman – I swear, the dyes are there because I like them, and, I'd been off Cernia for AGES – I didn't HAVE Decent clothes to wear on Dinosaur Planet. Anyway, I'm Telepathic because of my training – just something I was gifted with. My mother and father fostered it. So, I practiced it, and, here I am to day, the worlds youngest fully 'telepathic' woman." She didn't bother to elaborate on the fact that true telepathy was nothing more than an exceptionally sharp memory, a pair of eyes that could see a single fur out of place, or a nose that could smell even the SLIGHTEST shift in scent. Hers during the aparoid missions was enhanced with the neuro-stimulant crystals that allowed the user to detect changes in thought patterns – and in a similar mind, the interpretation of those thought patterns.

Wolf laughed. "Really now? My father drilled me in the Path of the Moon every day. Made sure I knew EVERYTHING about it." he laughed, pulling up another nacho with the food on it. Krystal and he were both packing it in like they were starving, but they were laughing at the same time. She looked at him, and raised her eyebrows. "Oh! I remembered something. My father - … You know, oddly, I never learned his name. Or mother's. They had a habit of referring to themselves as father and mother!" She laughed – Wolf joined in.

"Seriously? Joe would never have done that. Pa was a hard core son of a bitch – By the time I was twelve, I was a Black Belt in the Fist of the Moon – wolf martial arts." He smiled at her. "You practice?"

"Fourth Dan, Cerian Ninja-to." Wolf coughed. She was too humble to be lying – but he pressed the issue. "Liar." he said, grinning.

She smiled, picked up a nacho, and flicked it. It thudded INTO his shoulder and he blinked. He pulled it out of his skin, shrugged, dipped it in his food, and munched it. Krystal burst into laughing. "Oh my GODDESS That was FOUL Wolf! Kyhaha! So awesome!" She laughed again, shook her head, and continued to eat.

"Oh please. You've SEEN Worse. Why didn't you go into Law Enforcement?"

"Cernian Colony Law – Telepathic Testimony is non-admissible in court." She shrugged. It was a little unfair to be able to pick apart every lie anyone would ever tell. "And I was always the kick ass first kind of girl." Wolf laughed as she said this, chomping up a nacho. Krystal chuckled at him. "Besides. All the boys thought I was a dyke already, sooo..." She winked at him as she said this.

"What? You're kidding me." Wolf knew her decently, but he had never fingered her as homosexual – and he prided himself on an accurate gaydar. "So, Guess that means you've never had a real boyfriend other than Fox, eh?"

"Meh, I wouldn't call Fox a boyfriend." She slurped down another chip, crunched it a bit louder than usual, and her right ear twitched. She'd put the bastard out of her mind. "He was... my hero, there for a while. But, he was... well... A pussy." She laughed. Wolf snorted and a bit of coke spewed out of his nose. He grabbed his muzzle as he began laughing so hard his ribs got sore. It was a good five minutes before they went quiet again.

"So, anyway, yeah, been 'mostly' single all my life. Never had a man that took my fancy, you know? Anyway, lesse... Oh, anyway, when I was about fifteen, I ran away. Snatched my Pa's ship, and rode it out of the area. Visited EVERYTHING – when I was about, nineteen or so, landed on Sauria, and, well, here I am now. A twenty eight year old who works at a bar, has extensive physical training, and was trained by the hero of the Lylat Crisis to fly fighter jets." she shrugged. "Same old same old, really."

"Huh. Well, that's a nice story you have there. Sounds like you could write a book on it. Hell, you'd be a millionaire if you wrote up some stories about Fox!"

She laughed. She held out her hand. "Pay up, and I'll tell you a secret."

Wolf grumbled, and pulled out his billfold, pulling a twenty out, and handing it to her. She laughed a bit manically, and said, "Well, Okay, check this out... Fox McCloud..."

Wolf leaned over the table with a conspiratory grin on his face.

"Wears Pink Boxers."

Wolf sat there for a second... and then he laughed so hard she heard his back crack, he pounded the table, the gales of laughter infecting Krystal. She couldn't help it – she could remember the time she'd walked in on him with his pink boxers on, and she howled with laughter too. At least, until they heard stomping from the third floor.

Krystal muzzled herself, snorting with laughter, and wolf did as well, hyperventilating he had laughed so hard. She shook her head, and held her ribs. They sighed, their food now nearly completely gone. They pulled back, sighing with laughter, grinning at each other.

He wandered back towards her sparse apartment's living room, and flopped onto the couch, Krystal smiled as she walked in, and flopped beside him, crossing her legs on the couch. "You can go ahead and get comfortable, Wolf. I've seen worse, trust me." She laughed, and he did too. "I'll bet." he said, nodding, and taking the hint. She Gaped as he pulled off his T-shirt, leaving him bare chested. It took her perhaps a bit too long to turn back to the TV, which finally popped on. "Anything particular you want to watch?"

"Anything but space movies. Or War movies. Or anything about planes."

"I blocked most of the shows like that all ready. Sends me into depressive fits."

He blinked at her simple honesty. "Seriously?" She nodded. "Huh. Well, so long as you're not some bitter, hateful old bag, I suppose it's a good thing."

"Hey! I'm only Twenty Eight!"

He caught the pillow she lobbed at him easily, laughing. "Oh come on. Pillows, that all you got, girlie?"

"Wanna try me, old crook?"

"Crook now, am I? Just a few minutes ago you were drilling my abs with your eyes, thought you were trying to see if I was baked under all this fur!" he laughed, Teasing her.

She cracked up, and tackled him – they rolled off the Couch, and wrestled about in the floor for a minute. He grunted, and her eyes went wide as he rolled her over, and sat on her thighs, holding her arms above her head, and leaning over her. He leaned over her, his eyes a bit brighter than usual, but he stopped before their muzzles touched – He pulled away, coughing, and smoothing his muzzle fur. She Sat up, adjusting her shirt, her tail dragging the floor rapidly. She stretched a bit, and laughed again. He cocked his eyebrow at her. She looked back over her shoulder at him – he was holding his nose rather tight.

"Did I hurt you? Oh... Wait..." Dialated eyes, a small ribbon of blood from his nose, scent was deeper, huskier, Fur was more rigid. She'd turned him on.

He chucked the pillow at her as she began laughing up a storm. "Oh come on, I'm only a furre!"

She cracked up, and held her gut as he used the proper Cornerian for man, and looked back up at him, sitting in the same position. "I suppose you want this Furra to comb out your _tail _then, eh?"

His eyebrows hit the roof, and he chucked his shirt at her – she cracked up again, enjoying the average night with her friend – even if they were only loosely acquainted, they seemed to be hitting it off very well. "Oh, What's the matter, Wolfie-Wolfie? Afraid of someone walking in on you while a vixen is combing down your tail fur?"

"You know perfectly well what's wrong with it, it just ain't proper!"

"Is that a bit of a Zonessian Drawl I hear in your voice?"

"Oh come on, Krystal! Leave my accent out of this!"

She laughed. He laid out on the couch, watching a late night cartoon on the TV, smirking a bit. He was having a good time.

She laughed, and collapsed on the couch in front of him, scooting up and putting her tail over his hip, so that his head was on top of hers. He snorted. "Krystal..."

"Yeah, Wolf?"

"This is... ah... a bit of an... intimate position... don't you think?"

"Psh. There could be worse things in life. You could be Fox."

He couldn't help but snort and laugh at that. She grabbed his hand and draped it over her stomach. He froze again.

"Krys..."

"Shut up and watch TV. Stop being so damn nervous. You think I'd let you lay a finger on me if I didn't want you to?"

He nodded a bit, getting the point. "Sure."

The extremely stupid cartoon went off, and the next one was some Venomian local cartoon drama. Krystal flipped the channels blatantly – then stopped, grinning wickedly. She just had to get the last laugh in on him. A cheesey soft core porn. Wolf just rolled his eyes. She was gonna have to try harder than that to bed him.

By the time they had settled down, Wolf had his hand in her belly fur, right above her boy-shorts, and she had her tail locked with his as they snored loudly – nothing OVERT Had happened in the night.

* * *

**Noon, the Next day...**

Krystal blinked sleep out of her eyes, then realized...

She had wolf, snoring away quietly behind her, she shuddered, feeling his hand low on her stomach – by the gods, she was still so frisky. If he just moved his ha – NO! Krystal shook the thought away. She'd take care of it herself, before she pushed that on Wolf. Gods, she had had SOOOOO Many dreams about this hunk of a furre behind her, she wanted him so freaking badly, but she slyly slid out of his grasp – he murmured her name in his sleep, and she blushed bright as she looked down where her hips had been. "Fuck..." She muttered, and dashed for her bedroom, locking the door tight and pulling the curtains.

Thirty minutes later, Wolf fell off the couch as he heard a loud, long yip. He looked around, ready to fight till he realized... He'd spent the night with Krystal. He quickly checked himself over – no he hadn't been drugged or anything. He stumbled towards the bathroom, and silently hoped... yep, one single stream. He was in the green. He shrugged. The night came to him slowly – he'd gotten high from laughing so much. He stumbled out of the bathroom, still half asleep, and yawned. Krystal cursed and dived back in her room right before he rounded the corner. "Didn't think you were up, Wolf."

"Nnhhh... I'll make Brekkie..." he uttered, and spent a minute or two acquainting himself with the kitchen, while Krystal dressed, tying her hair into a pony tail – not that female furs had more head fur than usual, they just had enough to be annoying unless they got it clipped short like most did – and she personally refused to have her hair cut down to fur length again. She also pulled on a button up shirt, and left it unbuttoned. She stumbled out, still pulling up her jeans herself, and yawned, sitting down at the table, and sniffing as Wolf placed a three quarters full mug of coffee down in front of her, as well as her creamer and sugar cubes. He had a mug of Orange Juice on his side of the table, and he was at the stove, busily managing four different pans, working deftly at breakfast.

"Figured you were as hungry as me." he said, stirring the grits while flipping the bacon.

"I could eat something, that's for sure." She yawned again, ruffing her hair a bit to scratch her head, a few strands of her longer head fur hanging in front of her face. He was busily managing the pans in an impressive way – she couldn't help admiring him.

It was maybe three minutes before he was done with the food, and she came out of her reviere to a full course breakfast. She grined at him, and began to chow with him, going over her plans for the day in her head.

Breakfast safely chowed away, and the cleaning done, she shooed him off to go get dressed, and got her own 'gear' ready for the day ahead. Air quality was great today!

Wolf threw on his clothes, and walked back with a grin on his face. He fingered a small, copper penny he'd found on the street before he stopped at the bar last night.

He walked back into the kitchen to see Krystal jostling her hair, and heading towards the entry hall. He followed her, and she picked up her wallet and keys. "Let's go, slow poke. Don't forget your helmet."

He smiled, and snagged his up with a smirk. "Mind if I drive today?"

"Can you?"

He nodded as they got near the bike. He swung his leg over, and got it to purring contentedly in just moments. "Oh yeah." he said, smirking as he dropped the helmet into a Saddle bag. She laughed, and did the same with hers. "You're a real son of a bitch, you know?"

"Thank you, my dear." he said, in an overly royal voice. She cracked up as she sat down. "So, since I'm in the bitch seat, does that make me your bitch?"

He laughed. "I was in it last night. If anything, I'm YOUR Bitch!" he laughed, and she wrapped her hands around his waist, slower than necessary, and he burned rubber as the beast between his legs roared with pride, the acceleration slamming them both. As they pulled up to the nearby red light, he looked back. "Where we headed?" he shouted.

"Just take a left, and get on Highway forty seven. You'll see it!"

Ten minutes later, he saw it all right.

It was a Dry dock and Space Hanger setup. He smirked as he pulled into the parking lot, and turned off the bike. Krystal dropped him a rather not-so subtle hint as she got up, and snickered a bit at his reaction. "Oh you fucking tease." He said, hoping off the bike and chasing her down. She shrieked with laughter as he goosed her and threw her over his shoulder. She laughed hysterically as he pulled her down. "Funny ASSHOLE." She said, smacking his arm. He winced this time. "Shit, what the hell, lady? Trying to break my arm?"

She shook her head, and bumped his hip with hers. "Nah. Just feeling good. Real good."

He sighed, and held the door open for her. She bowed a bit, still cracking up that -THE- Wolf O'Donnell was this much of a gentleman. The fella at the reception desk smirked. "Hey, Krys. How's it going?"

"Pretty good, Lars. Lars, this is..."

He answered for her when she looked a bit lost. "Winston. Winston Wolf O'Donnell." She blinked.

Lars raised a brow. "As In Wolf O'Donnell, Pirate scum and ruler of the criminal underworld?"

"As in O'Donnell arms, now defunct arms manufacturers." No one had ever connected that – not even the brightest minds in the military. Wolf was his middle name, but, on all his papers, he'd always put Winston W. Course, he didn't let people call him Winston much.

"Oh seriously? Shit, I thought you would have used the Zoness Shipyards."

"I'm just browsing." He shot Krystal a look and a thought. She shot one right back at him. It took less than a split second.

His look translated the message – he wasn't happy with being brought out here.

Her accusing look transmited her own answer – one that came across as a bit of a stink eye – and was perfectly understandable to him. She was doing this for his own good. He hated it when women did that.

"Oh, sure. We do plenty of stock vessels, but we also do a lot of customized work, too. Here, let me show you." He opened the door to a show room. "Cruisers and Frigates are all scaled down, 100 to one ratio here, while the fighters are kept at an easy 10 to 1. Perfectly Detailed and functional, too."

Wolf blinked a bit. "Really? Used Nano-tech?" He nodded. "Yes indeed. We're really proud of them. Here, let me show you this one. Bit of a rip off of the Zoness Shipyards Model GR-347, otherwise known as a Great, but, we take care of our stuff." The six foot tall Lemur, who prominently displayed an old Venomian Military badge – obviously a former Andross pilot, reformed, enjoyed his day job. Wolf smirked.

"Here she is. Now, remember, the Great Fox is a custom vessel, but, this is as close as we can come to remaking her for Civilian Use."

"I'm not interested in Civilian Use." He said, looking at the monkey, then his shoulder patch. The Lemur smiled.

"Mercenary model?"

"... And Transport. Sensitive Cargo." He said, keeping up his arms dealer identity.

"Gun running then?"

"Er..." Krystal slapped wolf. "Lars, forgive him. He's in a sensitive line of work, and he's pretty tight lipped about it. But yes. You've got the Gist of it. What other models to you have?" He scowled at Krystal a bit, but he followed behind Lars.

"Well, other than the Great Vs, we've got the Fast Attack Cruisers over here, and just down this hall, we have the Frigate Class ships. Here." he fished out a PDA. "Don't bother filling up all four bars there, Winston. Search won't have any result. Anything like that would be... unethical... to sell to a Civilian."

Wolf Produced a twenty. Lars snatched it. "Right this way, sir. Private Showroom." He lead on. Krystal blinked. She shot him a look.

He looked at the tag on the lemur's uniform – Andross colors – most deffinatly an old guard hold out. She knew Wolf knew his way around the criminal underworld – but it quickly dawned on her just how deeply he'd been in it.

Krystal suddenly realized, she was in a lot deeper than she thought she was. It was high treason to even DISPLAY an Old Guard flag – and she could tell, the lemur wasn't afraid in the least. He wore the colors openly. She could feel her muscles tensing, but Wolf interevened. Wolf poked her and made a slight twitch of his ears. She calmed down. He knew what he was doing.

They got in the small elevator, and Lars punched a wall panel, instead of a button twice, then pulled it down and hit a button. He pulled his finger back and the wall panel slid back up easily. He smiled as the back side of the elevator opened into a black room, the lights buzzed on slowly.

"What exactly are you looking for, Winston?" Lars said.

Wolf looked around. "I thought you were serious." Lars blinked. "That's one hundred. Prices have changed. Takes more green to lube up the palms." Wolf looked back at him, and lowered a hand over his right eye. The lemur jerked stock still. "Holy shit." he said.

"We getting serious now?"

The Lemur nodded, and pulled out a small pamphlet. Wolf folded it out. "Hnn. These are all Cruisers."

"Well, when you disappeared... Leon Polawski... He bought out all the factories that produced Mainline Fighter Bombers, with Interstellar Capabilities. So, we don't have access to them."

Wolf frowned. "Dammit." He sat down on a bench, and Krystal sat beside him, looking at the pamphlet with him. He heard Lars say something. "Uhm... Mister O'Donnell?"

"Yeah?" He said, putting down the pamphlet, Krystal's head still on his shoulder.

"Is this woman why you left the business?"

Wolf and Krystal looked at each other, then began laughing like crazy. After moment they calmed down... then went back to the Pamphlet. Lars was ignored. He blinked. Then he shrugged.

"This one." Wolf said. Krystal harrumphed. "Oh come on. What's the matter with it?"

"Requires a Crew of Fifteen."

"Oh come on, we can get an AI To handle that."

"You really want to trust your life to a few trillion lines of binary code?"

"Bah. Spoil sport." He looked over another one... that was the only one that caught his interest. Then he blinked. "How custom can you make a ship?"

"Completely." Lars said instantly. He pulled out a PDA, examined it, tapped it a few times, then handed it over.

"Oh wow." Krystal said, snatching it. Wolf Blinked. "Hey! Krystal!"

"Shut it Wolf. Sorry, but you don't have a damn clue how to run a Cruiser. I'm the one who's had experience on it."

He shut his mouth.

Krystal tapped a few things, making giddy sounds, and harrumph sounds. "Give me a price range." She said, over her shoulder as she crouched near the blackness near the edge of the Show room's functional lighting.

"What are you looking at. I'm not gonna pay what they charge unless you've got something I just don't WANT To haggle over."

She humphed, and handed him the PDA. He looked it over, his eyebrows slowly raising. "This is... Well, it's a bit odd. The hell his this?"

"It's drag and drop interface, really. I used it to develop a ship SIMILAR To the Great Fox. It's about three quarters her tonnage, but, that ship has far more power to it. Point Defense Slug-Throwers, which I'm sure you can find a supplier for, Wolf, as well as a double forward mounted Mass Driver – Specifically, Gauss Models. On board Ammo plants, as well, using runoff from the Fusion/Fission switch drive – it's not the most powerful one, but, using Stable Bi hydrogen Oxides as a fuel in outer space is a very good thing. Chance of a rupture in the lines is... phenomenally slim. Provided the Fusion drive dies, it carries an on board Fission Engine with the same power output to get us to a dock for repairs." She smiled.

He blinked as she kept going. "Docking space for four ships, either flex winged or fixed, and fourteen Point Defense Energy Weapons – Blastech Model 97 GX TE, A pair of forward mounted laser drivers, and while the main cannons cool down, a magnetically arranged pair of turbolasers. Oh, and Wing Mounted Sphere-Lasers. Course, those will be hard to get without hitting a military Depot..." She muttered at the last bit.

He sighed. The price was... reasonable. The Ship model had a Gymnasium, Kitchen, Viewing Room, Bridge, Engine Room, Forward and Rear Launch Bays, and of course, Medical Facility. All for only fifty million Cornerian. He would never find a better deal. "... What's the price without the Sphere Lasers? That's pricey hardware."

"Uhm..." She tapped the screen a few times – it cheapened up massively. His face lit up. "I'll pay Thirty Five." Lars blinked. He scooped up the PDA. "The ship is Thirty NINE." He Glared at Wolf. Wolf smiled. "Then, should I take my business elsewhere? I mean, you have to unload hot property, I'm sure, and what better place to stash it than in a back room mercenary vessel deal? I mean, I would think Four Million to get rid of a st-"

"Three six five."

"Three five nine."

Krystal said it. She nodded. "It's a reasonable price. Besides. You're doing EACH OTHER a Favor... I mean, I'm sure that if -I-, Krystal Fox, walked down the street to the Cornerian Mili-"

"Three Six."

"Done." Wolf said. He pulled up his own PDA – more of a Cell phone, really, and wired the funds, while Lars wired the receipt to Wolf. He smiled, and shook Lars' hand. "Pleasure doing business with you." Lars nodded.

"I expected you to beat my ass and get me to commission it for free..."

"Psh. I'm a Mercenary and a Pirate. Not a Thief. Honest Commerce sometimes needs a bit of greasing."

Lars nodded, then blinked. "You're a hundred dollars short..."

Wolf smirked. "You're one hundred dollars richer." With that, they walked into the Elevator, and punched G. Krystal grinned at Lars, and the Lemur sighed, defeated.


	6. Beasts Within

Wolf Rode on back of the bike this time, his brain spinning... He'd just spent so much frigging money... Krystal could feel his anxiety as they pulled up to a food joint – nothing fancy, but a good place to get a burger that wasn't eighty five percent grease. She stood up as he slid off the bike. He waited for her to get off, and held the door for her. "Such a Gentleman." She said. He snorted.

She took a seat, and so did he, ordering, of all things, a Sweet Tea. She laughed, and did so as well. He looked across at her. "So... remind me again why I didn't slap you for taking me there?"

Krystal knew he was just ill because he'd spent such a large chunk of change. She sighed. "Don't turn into an ass now, Wolf. Just relax. You did it because you wanted to. I would have been a bit disappointed if you HADN'T Bought it, but, It was still your money and your choice."

"But Krystal, I just spent thirty million on a space cruiser, and we didn't buy any fighters."

"I know. But Fighters from here are shit. Trust me. I spent a good year looking up information on this stuff – Hell, every week, I still buy a Lottery Ticket, just hoping and praying I'll strike it big so I can get back into the air." She sighed, and smiled at the Waitress. "I'll have the Steak, rare, Baked potato, and Cole slaw."

Wolf grunted. "Steak, Medium, Baked Potato, and Baked beans." The waitress jotted it down and went back to the kitchen with a smile. He looked over at Krystal, and shook his head. "Are you using me just to get back into space? I have to ask, otherwise I'll kick myself later."

Krystal nodded. "I know it looks like it, but I'm not. I remember you, from that one time we talked. I remember that smile you had whenever the talk went towards Flying. You were -happy- then. Almost as happy as you seemed last night..." She said, her head, and ears, drooping.

"Krys..." he said as her face drooped. He reached over and pulled her head up. "You didn't abandon me. Didn't think I was worthless criminal trash. I was happy last night because both of us needed a friend. You were happy, so I was." He sighed, released her head, and it was his turn to droop. "But, I think it wasn't just because of that. I don't know why Krystal, but, You're just... easy to be around. No pressure."

"Maybe it's because I don't want to be perfect. Neither do you." She sighed, and leaned back. "It could also be because the first time I saw you I got the vapors..."

Wolf's ears perked up, and he forcibly folded them back. "Oh now that's just low."

She laughed, and the food came out. She shrugged at him. "Less talkie, more eaty."

He grumbled, and began chowing down.

She didn't MEAN to sound so damn rough with him, but, he'd keep her going forever with just a few words! He was so easy to talk too.

* * *

Wolf wasn't big on talking while he chowed, especially in public, but it wasn't long till Wolf couldn't keep his yap shut...

A young, bratty Chimp Bitch was pushing around a pig and his scaled friend – like most scaleies, Wolf couldn't tell what his ancestry was. But he was having to eat while listening to the bratty bitch chastise them, and it was beginning to piss him off. Krystal touched his knee with her tail. He jerked his head to her, then twitched his ear in the direction of the argument. She sighed, and shrugged, tapping her skull. He let his ears droop, but exposed a fang for her. She laughed a bit. She shook her head no, but the volume was increasing. They could make out words now.

"No, Lenny, YOU Don't get it! Neither one of you can do ANYTHING Right! I told you to get the BLUE Ones, you fat sack of shit, and you, Baldy, don't you EVER think you know what looks good on -..."

Wolf Had gotten fed up about the time she said a curse word. She suddenly shrieked as Wolf literally picked her up, put her over the stool, and slapped her ass so hard the whole room echoed. "God damn BRAT!" He said, picking her up, and shaking her hard. "What gives you the right, you fucking bitch, WHAT GIVES YOU THE GODS DAMNED RIGHT! I don't give a DAMN What your argument is about, But you need to have a LITTLE FUCKING COMMON GOD DAMN COURTOSEY FOR THOSE AROUND YOU!" He was pissed enough to chunk her through a wall. The whole establishment was watching him – she was staring at him, fright filling her every fiber. "I swear to god, I hear you treat these two without respect again, or if I hear another raised voice ONE more time, I will come BACK Over here, and whoop your ass like your mothers should have when you STARTED Giving her lip! You think this is funny? You think it's EASY?" He shook her one more time.

She shook her head no, quickly, ready to panic. "Then why are you sitting there, talking down to them like they're feral, eh? Where do you get off, chimp? I -EVER- Hear you call a pig fat, or a scale bald again, you little pink fleshed cunt... I will fucking KILL YOU!" he roared the last two words. She began to sob, and he set her down – gently. She jumped up. He stared at her. "Fix your act, now, before you get old enough for me NOT to stop at whooping your loud mouthed bitch ass." He turned and walked away from her, seething. Krystal was sitting there, shocked beyond belief, the whole restaurant had stopped to watch him. He heard murmurs of agreement from a few old timers, and blew up again.

"SHUT YOUR FUCKING YAPS!" He shouted, turning on the old bitch who'd said something. "You fucking -SAT THERE!- I can see three other lizards, and four other pink skins in here, and -I-, the furry one, have to do your job for you? You can't even STAND UP For your kind when they're being VICTIMIZED by one stupid bitch? You can't even stand up against bigotry?" He screamed, and turned, seething – he had almost grabbed a chair and chucked it. "You fuckers make me -SICK!-" He panted with fury, going back to his table, and sitting down. He adjusted his chair, and looked back up to Krystal, smiling. "Sorry about that. Can't stand bigotry."

"Hey, it's all good. Afraid we might get kicked out though."

"He can try." Was all Wolf said as he went back to his food, eating again. Krystal noticed that no one made a move for him. But, as they were finishing up, Wolf looked up, and blinked at a rather burly Chimp who walked next to the table, attempting to menace him. He simply stared at the chimp, smiling.

* * *

A minute. Three. Five. Ten. Twenty. Krystal, by this point, was just sipping on a straw. Most of the room was watching Wolf as he calmly chewed his last piece of meat – he hadn't moved his eyes off the bigger, brawnier chimp since he'd blocked Wolf's exit. Krystal was loving it in a perverse way. Wolf was just imagining how it would start. But she could tell the Chimp was beginning to feel it. That first ping of fear. That slow realization that he was about to have his ass KICKED In a big way. But fear can make any Anthropoi flip out. She opened her mouth to say this, but Wolf smacked her leg with his tail. Rather roughly. He wanted it. He was SPOILING For it.

The chimp had finally had it with wolf's calm, collected look at him – it was over in three motions from wolf. Two cracks sounded as the Chimp screamed for help - "OH GOD HE'S GONNA KILL MEEEEIIII! BUHUUUUHUUU HAAAAAA NOOOOO!"

There was another crack. The Chimp passed out. His arm was snapped in three places.

Wolf watched the moron try to hit him with a hay maker, and watched him overextend, he just moved his head to the side. Something these grazers just didn't get. His species was MADE To Kill them. Wolf was a wolf. He prided himself on that. He grabbed the chimp's arm, and rocketed his left palm into the Chimp's elbow. It shattered. The Chimp looked surprised. But Wolf was still in hunting mode. He Slid out of his chair quickly, not even tumping it over. He brought his left palm around again, and left his left foot slide in front of the Chimp's leg. He pushed, and he felt the Chimp's shoulder crack – the sound from his broken elbow hadn't even left the room by the time the chimp his the ground, screaming in pain. As he started to blubber, the humor left Wolf's eyes, and he released the Chimp's useless arm, and quickly delivered a right handed knife edge chop to the Chimp's bone – It didn't break his forearm instantly, no. It Broke it when his hand caught on the nearby table, his Ulna and Radius both fracturing, sending the chimp out like a light.

Wolf smiled. He Held his hand out for Krystal, who smiled and accepted it – She had noticed that he stopped giving tells as he moved – she couldn't have known what he was going to do. He looked at the table he'd bumped the Chimp's hand into, and frowned. "Damn. Scuffed the paint." He muttered. As they walked to the register, smiling, hand in hand, A ill looking goat came out of the back room.

"The hell do you think you are, starting a scuffle like that?"

Krystal tutted. "He didn't make the first move. He acted in the most efficient way to disable a threat to the peace of Venom. Scaring the little girl will make her watch her mouth – reminding the nearby civilians of their civic duty to stamp out all forms of bigotry, that's just good manners in the first place, when they let such blatant bigotry slide. As for the fight, the chimp tried to hit him, so, He took him out of the fight. When he started screaming, He made him pass out. Simple, really."

The goat blinked. "You didn't even try to stop him! You need to learn to leash – FUCK! MY NOSE!" Krystal blinked as she realized SHE had done it. She had grabbed his horn, and plowed his face into the counter, HARD. She blinked and looked at Wolf. He just raised his brow.

"Kindly refrain from using language that refers to my friend as a Feral, please." She said, as Wolf just shook his head, and pulled out a few twenties.

"Sorry sir, but I think I may have scuffed some paint with the Chimp's ring. There's a little extra there to cover the damages I may have caused. Have a pleasant evening!" he said, waving at him. He and Krystal walked out side, hand in hand, just as a Civic Cruiser pulled up, a black uniformed officer coming out, and putting his hand on his holster. Wolfs Hackles shot up. "Move your hand." He said simply.

"Don't move!" The Other Wolf, a Green and Grey furred variety said, moving to pull it.

Wolf Did move. He moved fast and low – feral, almost. Krystal couldn't tell what he was going to do. The movements were wild, feral, ferocious, they were so sudden and without any warning that it somewhat scared her.

The other wolf blinked, as he felt Wolf forcibly disarm him, holstered the weapon, and clip it tight, his fangs inches from the officer's throat. "I... said... move your hand."

The other wolf nodded slowly. "Good. Now, if you're going to take my report, you best be ready to WRITE, not shoot, and try to take me in." The officer nodded once more – it was one thing to die in the face of duty. It was another to have a bigger, stronger, faster pair of fangs within inches of your throat. His training screamed for him to hit Wolf with a Nightstick – he was already shown to be EXTREMELY Violent – But his motions against the officer had been gentle, almost fatherly, in a way – the way a father beats you across the shins for not tying your shoes, but still fatherly.

The Young wolf took out a pen and paper, scribbling down as Wolf detailed in exacts what had happened. He didn't leave out the part about Krystal slamming the Goat's face on the counter.

* * *

"So you're saying... everything you did... was in self defense, though extreme prejudice was used to decide on your actions?"

He nodded.

"I... see... Well, Unless they press charges, it won't amount to any thing."

The goat, about this time charged out, pointing at Krystal. "Ah Whant Herrrgh Arghrgheshthed!"

He held his nose tighter as blood spurted again. The Officer jerked his thumb towards the goat. "This the Leash guy?"

Wolf nodded.

"You don't want her arrested, sir."

"Yesh Ah Du!"

"If I arrested her, you'd have to go in too, because the extremely bigoted thing you said constitutes assault."

(Translated from Broken-Nosese) "But he trashed my bar!"

"He acted in the defense of two gentlemen FROM Bigotry, and acted in order to prevent a situation from escalating into a full fledged bar fight. He -SHOULD- be hailed as a hero. He kept people like you from getting hurt, if the chimp had gone berserk." the officer blinked, as the goat stuttered and went back on the offensive.

(Translated.) "You meat-feeder, she broke my nose because I told her to keep control of her man!"

The officer twitched his ear, but, in order to stifle any sense of 'injustice' he pursued the accusation. "Is this true miss?"

"In a way. He was very rude, and told me to ahem... leash... my friend Winston."

Wolf twitched at the use of his first name. Such sacrifices must be made to preserve his identity as a legitimate arms dealer of a defunct company was was oddly destroyed by a Zonessian Rebel Faction. Wolf inwardly snorted at the military's cover up. They did a piss poor job of covering up that they were the ones who had killed his family. He hated it when people called him Winston. Reminded him of his Grandfather.

"Do you remember his exact words?"

"Yes sir. 'You didn't even try to stop him,' (At this point, she started imitating the goat. She pointed at wolf.) 'you need to learn to leash.' … And at that point, I had already grabbed his horn, and smashed his face into the bar." She made a motion as if she were grabbing her nose. "Winston paid for it, and for any damages his scuffle with the chimp MIGHT have caused."

He nodded. "Sounds like she defended her friend. Telling someone to leash some one is considered a Hate Crime, according to Lylan Intergalactic Law, and according to Venomian Law, it's an accusation of Ferality. You sir, don't seem, Feral." he looked back at Wolf.

After he'd nearly attacked the officer, the officer had realized that Wolf, or, Winston, as he knew him, had just acted on instinct to protect his pack. Officer Chadlin couldn't fault him for it – It was to be expected, when dealing with Wolves, that they'd protect their Packmates.

The Goat again started to speak, his voice raised.

(Translated.) "Officer, you're playing favorites here, he's as feral as they get!"

Officer Chadlin, attempting to be a decent, goddess fearing furre, turned to Wolf. "Winston, Can you Recite the Second Lylan Constitutional Amendment?"

"Sure, Officer Chadlin. Rights of the Ferals, the second amendment." This was a law every child would learn quickly. "An Anthropoi is defined as a sentient, intelligent member of society, regardless of number of motivational legs. If an Anthropoi is to lose their sanity to the point that they no longer can recite a simple saying without training, they are to be considered a feral. Ferals have all the rights and must obey all the laws as an Anthropoi, unless they are from a state mandated 'feral stock' – any Anthropoi born of a Feral Stock is to be put in state funded care facilities, until such time as they are deemed ready for civilization at large." Wolf said, in one breath, before inhaling again, keeping his words and voice even the whole time. "Any Feral who breaks a law is to be assigned a federal attorney, to protect his or her rights as a civilian and citizen of the Lylat system."

Wolf ticked some things off on his fingers, then nodded. "I think that's everything. It's been years since I thought of it. Forgive me if I got the words a bit wrong. That was all paraphrased."

Officer Chadlin nodded. "Doesn't seem feral to me, sir."

The Goat freaked out, even Wolf couldn't understand him. The officer twitched his eyebrow. "Sir, Calm down."

The Goat didn't.

"Sir, I said, calm down. This is your last warning..."

The goat still wouldn't.

"You're under arrest for badgering an officer of the law. You have the right to an attorney, anything you say or do not say can be held against you in a court of law. If you cannot afford one, or you are feral, one will be appointed for you." He cuffed the goat. The goat blinked. He started hollering again, as the officer hustled him towards the car.

Wolf and Krystal sighed. "Damn morons." Wolf said, finally fed up with the day, he pulled a crumpled, weeks old pack of smokes from his pocket, and a flip top lighter, lighting up a smoke.

Krystal blinked, but shrugged, and held out her hand. It took Wolf a minute to realize she wanted one. He popped one out into her hand and flicked the lighter, lighting it for her. She inhaled deeply, and exhaled long and slow. He blinked at her. "Didn't realize you smoked."

"I don't." She said, looking at him. "But I'm not going to turn down a gift." She laughed. He smirked. "Well, what next, Krystal?" He looked pointedly towards the sky. He didn't know what time Krystal had to go to work, but he was sure it would end up being soon. But she surprised him. "We go and buy you some decent clothes. You look good in a T-shirt, but, really, you need to have something decent.

Wolf snorted as he mounted the bitch seat. "You know, I'm really getting tired of riding on the bitch seat here."

"Yeah yeah. I'm just surprised you've been so focused on hiding from the law and the stars that you haven't done this before now."

"I had my reasons, Krys."

"They weren't good enough. All it took was one -DAY- with me, and you're dying to get back into space."

Wolf couldn't come up with a reply. In fact, the only response he could think of ended up on the idea that this Vixen who was backed up right against his crotch as she started the bike, was a babe. He snorted. "You're such an ass." He said to her. She laughed.

* * *

Shopping for clothes with Wolf O'Donnell.

Krystal laughed her ass off at that thought one more time.

"What's so damn funny, Krys?" Wolf said as he held up yet another olive drab T-shirt, trying to find a size that fit him. He had said a flat no to the upper class department store she had attempted to stop at first. So here they were at a seedy, dirty looking outlet mall and flea market, on a Saturday afternoon at two o'clock.

"Oh, nothing. Here. Let me help." They were in a military surplus store in the outlet mall, and she picked up a pair of gray urban camo fatigues, and a gray drab shirt, just in his size. He blinked. "Grey? Really." He said.

"Oh shut up and quit your bitching. I swear, you must be heating..."

Wolf blinked. "Oh now, who's heating?"

"Maybe I am, maybe I ain't... course, you ain't gonna be able to smell it any time soon..." She teased. The Steel Grey Wolf snorted, and went back to finding a size of olive drab that fit him. Krystal just grabbed the sizes that would fit him. "Right. This should be good." She said after a moment, Wolf FINALLY Finding the shirt that fit him. He blinked at the buggy. Three suits rested, waiting for him, all in his sizes, complete, including berets.

"Berets?" he said.

"Berets." She said. She could just see him now – Oh yeah. He would cut a stunning figure standing there in cargo fatigues, a fatigue top with the sleeves rolled up, and a beret thrown up on his head. She was inwardly having a fan girl moment at the thought. One could veritably SEE the drool running down the side of her neck. Of course, in reality, she was just smiling coyly – the kind of smile that drove wolf bat shit crazy.

He sighed. "At least tell me how you know my size."

She laughed. "Telepathic." A half truth to cover over the full one.

The Flea Market proved more hospitable. With a better selection of sizes for him, he actually managed to buy a decent looking suit of clothes rather than mil-spec camo fatigues. He had also insisted they shop for guns. And now, they were staring at a Fennec fox with a shifty look, who was hawking off his guns. And Wolf blinked.

"You sell O'Donnell Arms?"

"Banned on every planet except venom, yes, I do. Course, they're all expensive – no planet produces these babies any more – fact is, you fly off world with these, you're considered a Class A Three Felon. Course, you two are local, so I can sell em off cheap."

Wolf sighed. "Cheap? Seven hundred Credits for one of those ODA AR-67s is freaking rock bottom. I should know."

"Winston..." Krystal said, jabbing his side. He blinked. Right. He SHOULDN'T Tell the guy who was selling his grandpa's guns he was selling them too cheap.

"Eh, If I could sell them for more, I would... but these things are solid ammo weaponry, clipped in an everything." The Fennec pulled one down, pulling out a case of shells from the bottom. "You're a wolf, so you should know how to use this baby. Course, I could be wrong, but I doubt ANY wolf in the system wouldn't pride themselves on owning this one, or, this rare limited edition one I have... Tell you what. You buy this gun here, and I'll sell you these." The Fennec pulled down a pair of hand guns with a smile. "Six hundred for the rifle, case of ammo, and you give me one hundred more, I'll sell you these two. Yeah, none of them are Blastech, but, You know, like the O'Donnells used to say..."

"A gun that fires light ain't nothing but fireworks..." Wolf finished for him, picking up the hand guns.

"Those are the Model Ten, Semi-automatic Plasma Throwers. Loaded up with an Incendiary ballistics payload, they make one hell of a bang when you fire them. Shoots out a semi-state load of energy and mass, it's literally like throwing a fireball at your enemy – Hell, I had a buddy who had some aircraft shielding he salvaged from the war, we hooked it up on an old Jalopy, and took a few pot shots at it. Damn thing went nova after three shots!"

The Red Neck Fennec seemed pleased with his accomplishment.. but Wolf knew these guns. All three of them were Solid-state plasma throwers, or Slug Throwers, in a pinch. Ammo for them would be a bitch to locate... but these things could decimate a fighter jet – if you could shoot it. He smiled, and fished out the cash for them, putting it down with a big ass smile. "Here." He smiled as the Fennec's jaw dropped. He picked up two more cases of Plasma Ammunition, and set it down beside the Wolf's purchase. "You pay in cash, you get a bonus."

Krystal smiled as they lugged their haul away. It was what they needed to start working as a team. Wolf didn't know why. Hell, he couldn't place it if he tried... but Krystal... She was good to be around. Smelled good. Felt good to be with. She had a NORMAL Personality, even if she WAS Psychic. She could be good for him. Of course, She was thinking something completely different as they pulled into the parking lot at her apartment.

* * *

"Hey Wolf?"

"Yeah?" He began to unload the bike, glad that the saddle bags could hold their purchases.

"I've got a question."

"What's up?" He asked as he began to climb up the stairs.

"I'll ask it once we're inside."

He nodded, and she opened the door. He was lugging most of the ammo, but she had his clothes and the last case, as well as the guns.

They settled in, and Krystal finally piped up.

"Wolf, why are you going back into the sky now?"

"... Because I've missed it. I guess."

"No guessing." She said, and sat down across the table from him. He took the hint to sit down as well.

"I don't know. I think I just needed a good swift kick in the ass to get me started again."

She frowned at him. "That's not it either."

Wolf got ill, quickly. "What do you want me to say, Krystal? I Miss being Wolf O'Fuckin'Donnell! I miss being the bad ass who struck fear into the hearts of Cornerian pilots. I Miss being -ME!- I want to get back up there, fly missions, and fucking be ALIVE! I'm getting NO WHERE, Living off my Grandpa's money, in cardboard boxes next to the flea ridden, mangy beggars! Dammit Krystal, up there, I'm not a wanted man that can't defend himself against guys who risk their lives every fucking day to protect the people!" He collapsed back into the chair, his mouth spilling out the words his mind couldn't comprehend. "I can't kill a Cop, I can't look a soldier in the eye and kill him! I've lost the will to do it, Krystal! But It's what I know! I know how to be an asshole. I know how to be a bastard. I know how to run a criminal ring!" He said, sighing and hiding his face.

"I don't know how to be a hero."

She laughed. He blinked and looked at her, looking furious. "You, Wolf O'Donnell, don't know how to be a hero? This will be easier than I thought."

"The heck do you mean?"

"Simple. Wolf, You ARE a hero at heart. I saw you risk your neck for Fox, three times over, even if you guys do fight it out like ferals."

Wolf snarled. "I have my reasons to hate the pup, but dammit, I'm not gonna let some alien scum fuck with him. He's -MINE-, dammit! Ain't no one gonna kill Fox McCloud but ME."

"I know that. It's all fine to hate him... but you don't want to kill him. Beat him. Kick him while he's down... blind him... break his bones... But you couldn't pull the trigger at his face." She could tell. How he moved... how he talked, walked, acted... he wasn't a killer. In a plane, things were different. It was faceless. Anonymous. Time didn't slow to a bloody crawl every time you realized you were taking a life... It felt like a game, who's faster, who's 'deadlier' than the other guy? A contest of guts and skill in the skies... on the ground? You felt different. Seeing the pink spray, the crimson splatter, hearing the crunching of bones... it makes a person cold as all hell. Wolf had some ice in his veins... but there was still some warmth in his eyes, in his soul, she supposed.

Wolf Froze. How did she know? Every damn dream he had where he was face to face with Fox, beaten and bloodied, dying... Wolf couldn't kill him. He could shoot his ass down. He could fuck him up so bad he couldn't breathe right... but in every dream, regardless of how he could have killed the fox... never once. Wolf Snarled and came back to life in a flash, staring her down. She didn't even flinch.

"How do you know that?"

"Because."

"Dammit, don't get vague on my Krystal!"

"I can't tell you. If I did... Bad things... might happen." She said, shuddering a bit. How do you say you've been watching a man who's everything you've EVER craved in a man every moment you can? How do you tell him that if you had the chance, you'd never leave his bed, his side, his ANYTHING he wanted. He could … She stopped her mind. If she went any further, or if he provoked her, She wouldn't be able to stop herself... Just grab him, claim him... She knew it was a wolf thing, but... she wanted to be his Alpha – and Omega, for that matter.

"Bad things, like what?"

She stood up, and came over to him, he stood, and she shoved him against the wall. Goddess, this vixen was strong. And she was looking at him like MEAT. "Bad things that we're not going to talk about, Wolf. Got me?"

Wolf stood there gob-smacked – of course, the smell that hit his nose made his next words come out without his mind kicking in to stop him. "Dammit, Unless you're gonna kiss me, let me fucking go!"

And so Wolf, well, a very, VERY, surprised Wolf – Was kissed. It wasn't a polite, like you as a friend, it wasn't even a hot and steamy oh god you're so hot, it was way beyond a you're my boyfriend, it was a full on, I need you in my pants, making me howl. Wolf pressed back into it after a moment, causing Krystal's ears to go up. GODS He loved a woman who could push him around! Course, being who he was, it was a bit hard to find that kind of woman – and now he'd found one. She let go of his arms, and he grabbed her hips and her head, making sure this once in a life time kiss lasted way beyond the norm.

And Krystal was inwardly reminding herself that she didn't have TIME To take his ass around the freaking sun.

But she didn't fight it as he snarled, and tore off his T-shirt, ruining it quickly. She in fact, growled playfully. She ran her hands through his fur, and pulled him close by the chest fur, hard. She traced his muscles with her hand as she found herself being pushed up around his hips and against the wall – it was a messy, sloppy, hot-blooded passionate, madly-in-lust-with-you kiss. The kind that involved Self control taking a complete vacation... Except, Self Control apparently left it's keys in the house.

They broke apart, panting, starting to fiddle with their pants, when they realized just what they were doing. It was an awkward moment at best.

"Krystal..."

"Wolf..."

"Not yet... regardless of where it leads... since I'm fucking sure this will end up somewhere... not yet. Not until we're ready for it."

"Agreed... Fuck, Wolf, You are a real ass, you know?"

"One word about how frisky you are today... and I swear I won't stop."

She shut up. She jerked his head back, and ran her nose up the underside of his chin before pressing her face to his. His tail was stock stiff, fluffed, and his leg was shaking. He snarled out a single word. "Krys..." He said, his voice low and husky. She suddenly pushed him away, and he growled, holding on to the counter as she dashed away.

"Asshole!" She yelled.

"Same to you!" He shouted.

The roof banged again.

* * *

Wolf sighed. He had driven Krystal to the bar – he had insisted. She had agreed it was probably for the best. He couldn't stick around either. Too much longer smelling that wonderful smell of hers, and he would have had her over the bar, a knee in his hand, and her cloth – Wolf slapped himself, HARD. He walked into her apartment and left the keys where she normally did, walking to the bathroom to think. JUST Think he reminded himself.

"The hell is WRONG With me!" he said, looking into the mirror. The Wolf looking back at him was himself, only it was the old him. Bitter, always frowning, complete and utter bad ass old him. He was -STILL- A bad ass He was still a bit bitter... but he was older now. More mature. He wasn't a pup with anger issues any more. He was -BETTER- than Fox. He wouldn't let himself be like that asshole of a pup. He couldn't let that happen. But the image in the mirror changed again.

This time, Wolf was looking at himself – only far younger. This Pup Wolf was angry, irrational, hateful... It was right after he lost his family... It changed again. Younger. The young, uncertain pup who was dropped off at the military academy with his firecracker, nymphomaniac girlfriend Rin O'Riley. Then, it changed again. For a minute, Wolf thought he was looking at his childhood face.

A Smiling, Steel Grey image was in the mirror. It was filled out, adult and trim. His Two-tone eyes, one blue, one brown and mechanical, told him it was him currently. He was smiling. He blinked, and he tried to frown. He tried his damnedest to get mad, to get angry, to get FURIOUS... but... he couldn't. He couldn't think of anything about what had made him smile.

These past two days.

He'd found a small, copper penny lying face up on the street, but he'd been down on his luck, and while not superstitious, he picked It up regardless. And ever since then, his life had been on the up. He'd met Krystal in a bar, had a few laughs, found a couch to sleep on, found a FRIEND To hang with... No, not just a friend. A Woman. A smart, sassy, sultry woman who had the muscles, the mind, and the minx to pull it all off like a professional could! Krystal. The Cernian Tribeswoman who had literally forced her way into his iron-walled heart over night. She hadn't taken no for an answer.

She took down his guard. She made him see. He was fucking lucky. Beyond fucking lucky, really.

He dug in his pocket. He looked at the penny long and hard. And that's probably what saved his life.

As Wolf stared at the penny, he saw a shadow in the mirror. Instinct, before thought, kicked in, and sent him low into a turning crouch. The scaler aimed the gun as the first shot missed cleanly, and Wolf let out a bark, the kind that said to something, 'Prey' as he jumped, his fangs tearing into the face of the scaler who shrieked and hissed his last in moments. He Shook his head – a death shake – and looked up, two other scalers in military armor turning machine pistols on him as he reached behind his back, and realized, he didn't have his guns on him. Then it hit him as he dodged the burst of laser fire. _Krystal... They have her._ He felt his face fall, his ears droop, and his furre eye go flat and angry. He could look THESE people in the face – and kill them. Pack and self preservation always brought out the beast in him. He looked to the right, spotting the pair of pistols he had loaded earlier, intending to wear them on his lower back, as side arms.

He picked them both up, readying them with a flick of the safety. He grinned, ear to ear. He Turned the corner, his pistol leveled directly against the nearest scaler's eye. It shrieked in fear as he pulled the trigger, silencing it instantly as half it's head dissolved in a point blank burst of chemically activated electron pulse – A plasma round. It dropped, dead as a corpse, as it's buddy raised it's gun to fire on Wolf. Knowing better than to fire again from the same pistol, he fired his left hand gun, the blast of red orange flames incinerating the scaler's gun, eating his arm away and sending the rapidly destabilizing burst of electronic liquid splattering against the ceramic counter top of her Kitchen. Wolf breifly let himself watch the liquid sizzle out, the ceramics able to endure the almost acidlike effects of the plasma.

"Where is she?"

"I'll never tell you."

BLAM!

"AHHHHHHH! MY ARMS!" Wolf fired both guns at once, right at the scaler's shoulders. He could see the pain setting in, destroying the poor man's ability to live. "Tell me, and you die faster. You are going to die. There is no option other than death. Keep quiet... and I start at your feet."

The scaler shrieked, and Wolf shot both of his feet off. BANG! BANG! The gun barked, and the scaler shrieked, intense pain riding up into his head. Wolf kicked him across the face. "Talk."

"DIE!"

BLAM! BLAM!

"Talk."

"I'd rather die!"

"You will." BLAM! BLAM! Ktchk. Ktchk. Shh-click. Shh-click.

"Talk."

"KILL ME!"

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

"The wounds are Cauterized. You'll die of shock and sepsis if you don't tell me."

"Go to hell."

Wolf smiled, and holstered the weapons, walking just out of sight of the poor scaler missing the lower half of his body, burnt bits of flesh still rolling beside his face as pools of still charged plasma ate away at his flesh. He screeched loudly for a few moments, then he heard him sobbing. "End it... end it..."

"Talk."

"GYAHHHHH! NOOOO!" Wolf walked back inside now, using his boot to splash the still sizzling liquid across the scaler's lower torso. It howled again, and wolf sat down, lighting a cigarette, looking at him.

"Talk."

"Ghk... nnh... Fourth and Maples... Warehouse..."

Wolf kept smoking. "Who?"

"KILL ME!"

Wolf shot out what remained of the guy's hips. "Talk."

"Ellen Polawski."

"Why?"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

Wolf inhaled deeply, hot boxing his smoke down to nothing but a cherry and a filter as the scaler suffered. It took HOURS to die of shock like this without some kind of help. He dropped his smoke into the barrel of his gun, aimed it at the scaler's head...

BANG!

Wolf was always a 'quick' dresser. In the black drab camos he had worn to meet Krystal in, he pulled on a black Beret, and his long duster, cramming another smoke in his muzzle, and bringing some extra ammunition.

The Bike Roared to life as he screamed it out of the parking lot, Cops already pulling up to follow him. Officer Chadlin recognized him, and took off after him, lights blaring as the wolf left a trail of rubber down the highway, speeding towards the warehouse district as fast as the old-school Wheeler would let him. Chadlin attempted to cut him off plenty of times, but Wolf would just gun it, and jump ahead, only to slow back down to incredibly fast. Chadlin wasn't able to catch the wolf at all as he whipped into a side street, too narrow for the cruiser to go down.

"FUCK!" Chadlin shouted, landing the cruiser in a hot landing, destroying some of the Anti-grav hover units, and jumping out, riot shotgun in hand, backup flying in to the nearest real street. Chadlin looked around. "HQ, This is Officer Chadlin, Suspect in a triple homicide is at Fourth and Maple, in the Jager Warehouse. Be advised, suspect is considered Armed and Lethal."

"Officer Chadlin, don't you mean dangerous?"

"You heard me." He walked down the alley as he heard the bike cut off. "Winston! Winston O'Donnell! Come out with you - "

BLAM! Ktd-oosh! Tmp, Tmp, MMRRRPH! BANG! BANG! BANG! GYAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! BANG! BANG! RatatatatataBLAM! OH GOD, NO, NO! PLE-BLAM! Krystal? Mret mehiz mufting thing off my mouth Wolf! Gah! Bastards were gonna... BLAM! BLAM! BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM!

It took maybe 10 seconds. Chadlin was barely inside the doorway when he saw the wounded Steel gray wolf propping the Blue Vixen up as she stood, her face bruised and her clothes torn up. Wolf Looked at him, and just nodded. "Take care of my woman, pup." Chadlin shuddered as he held the riot shotgun level with Wolf's chest. But the Wolf simply let Krystal go. She nodded. "Hell of a day." She said as she walked towards the Officer. "Ain't over yet." He quite openly reloaded his pistols, and went towards the stairs upwards into the Rafters, where Chadlin could see a Shadow in a dimly lit crane box.

"Ellen Polawski?"

"Wolf O'Donnell."

"Leon put you up to this?"

"Of course."

BLAM!

The corpse of the woman fell out of the window, a chunk of her chest missing. She gasped once, twice, then died. Wolf grumbled, and picked up two heavy looking objects.

"Chadlin!"

"P-p-put d-d-d-down your arms!"

"Shut the fuck up." Wolf lowered the two wounded waitresses to the ground. Then he handed the wolf both of his pistols, and took his shotgun. "You're a fucking hero." Was all he said, and held his hand out to Krystal. She blinked. "You sure about this Wolf?"

"Course I am. Winston O'Donnell ain't a hero yet. Not like this. No fancy tricks or heroics to woo you, You don't owe me jack – especially considering the state of your apartment."

"Pffffttt. Fuck that. I'm just glad you got here before they did the next thing on their list."

"Mind if I..."

"Female Castration."

"Goddamn."

"Yeah."

"So, what do I do now?"

"Uhm... Drive us home, so I can patch myself up?"

"No, I mean, what do I do now? I just killed like, uhm... " Wolf started counting in his head. "What, nine people?"

"Honestly, I don't give a flying fuck. You saved my life. And more bits of me than I care to recount. Let's go HOME, Wolf."

"HEY! O'Donnell!" Wolf turned back, and blinked. "You're THE Wolf O'Donnell?"

"Yeah. What's it to you, pup?"

"... I think I'm supposed to arrest you... But... I don't think I will."

"Good move. Come on, Krys. Let's go."

* * *

Wolf growled at the cops in front of his … good friend's... Apartment door. "I'm sorry sir, there's been a rather messy crime, We're not allowed to let anyone into the Crime scene."

"Well, can I at least get some clothes so I can bloody SHOWER tonight? If you can't tell, I've had a rough night!"

"Sorry Ma'am, I -"

"Oh for FUCKS sake." Wolf just grabbed the poor Furre and tossed him aside, leaving him in a heap of fur and limbs off to the side as he held up the tape for Krystal. "Go get your clothes doll. I'll be waiting at the bike. We won't be getting any sleep tonight."

She nodded, and stepped inside, rushing for her bedroom.

* * *

The dingy, run down motel was as much of a temporary home as anything – Passing out was, of course, the first order of business. But the morning... now that... that was a dozy.

"Nnrgh..." Wolf stood up from the bed, his back felt like he'd been smashed in the head with a Gauss round from above – smooshed and painful. Hell, His tail was kinked, that's how painful it was. The half drunken morning stumble to the shitty room's bathroom was a glorious curse-fest as he smashed his toes right on the bed, and even managed to drag the sheets off the bed with his dew claw. This, of course, woke Krystal up in a right irate manner. And also to the sudden urge to piss like a camel at an oasis. Wolf had barely stumbled into the bathroom, when Krystal shoved past him, and sat on the toilet.

Now, when an irate Vixen with absolutely no sense of shame or mortification is half asleep, and barely paying attention to who is in the room with you, and a Somnambulizing lupine with a serious bad ass complex end up in the same room, with both of their drawers dropped, the Irate Vixen on the toilet, and the ornery Lupine forced to piss in the sink (Mainly because he had a morning manhood going on that could pierce concrete ) and neither of them realizess anything is wrong, you know that something awkward – or devilishly decadent – happened the night before. However, when you're just sleepy enough that the act of pissing wakes you up, it can lead to an odd sense of mortification, and horror. This was the latter situation.

"... Wolf... What are you doing in here?"

"hunnh? NNNWWWWWWWNNNAh... What the hell Krystal, this is... the men's... ba... Fuck."

Krystal blinked. Wolf sighed. Great. Now she'd seen the goods. She hastily covered her eyes after a moment, and looked away, her scent flaring with sheer embarrassment – and if Wolf hadn't ALREADY been in a compromised position, it would have been doubly bad if he hadn't ALREADY been in said position. "I uhm... I'm not gonna lie. This is incredibly awkward."

"You're not the one pissing in the sink with his junk on display in full view and a GODAWFUL full bladder."

"Is that... I mean... are you..."

"What? No! I mean, well, awwww FUCKIT. Krys, what the hell do you expect me to say?" He grumbled, and pulled up his pants, after shaking himself off, and zipped up, preparing to wash the sink – and his hands. "It's morning wood."

"Does it get bigger?"

"The fuck?" He looked at her, then sighed. "Of course it does! It's not exactly HEALTHY for your boner when you realize you're showing off to a girl you've talked to all of four times."

"Uh huh. Thing's a cannon."

"I wasn't even … Why the hell am I talking about the size of my Soldier with you?"

"Because I'm just waking up, taking a piss, and just got an eye full of your Soldier's morning duties. Now, Can you scoot? It's kinda hard to be modest of ANY kind when you're sitting here with your twat wide out in the open with a guy you're crushing on staring at you while he washes his piss out of the sink."

"... Right." He stepped out. "It's official, I'm never pissing again."

"Keep chatting. You might get me to REALLY beat the shit out of you."

"... You'd think the dew claws would have fallen off by now."

"Just make some goddamn coffee..."

"Aye aye." He grunted, looking at the 110% shitty coffee maker, and snorted, beginning to brew up her coffee first. He yawned widely, looking over as she came out of the room, hair a muss and ears laid flat in embarrassment. Of course, the fact that she was wearing a belly-fur-tone pair of skimpy damn panties and a very loose tank top didn't help matters. He supposed he wasn't any better, in a pair of denim blues and nothing else. She could probably see his hip bones.

"Fuck... what time is it?"

"I dunno..." Krystal flopped down on a bed, and turned on the TV, blinking as the cable showed up with a time close to noon. She snorted. The Venom sun hadn't even risen yet, mainly because of the 48 hour rotational period. The coldest bit of the night. They were locked in, until 6 Cornerian standard, to keep from freezing their fur to their skins. "You gotta be kidding..." She turned up the news report.

"This is channel 15 news at noon, last night, there was a massive 'Gang War' it seems, in a sleepy Terra-former camp-town on the Western Continent of Venom. The results of a massive shoot out in the Fourth and Maple Jager Warehouse, left Six dead, in a related shooting, three others have been found dead in the apartment of a rather 'Aggressive', as Authorities put it, pair of Canines."

Wolf brushed his teeth as he listened, handing Krystal the necessary supplies to do so herself as he sat down to watch. A freaky looking Raccoon appeared on the Screen.

"It all started about two days ago, ma'am! The lass below me, usually a doll of a renter, suddenly brought home a Thugy looking space gangster! Pirate scum and her were arguing all the time – and when they weren't, well, they must have been smoking something, they sounded geeked up!" She looked panic stricken. "When I heard the blaster fire, I thought He'd gone crazy and started killing us all! But then it stopped, after I head one of em screaming and crying, begging fer death, the bastard tortured him! Then I heard that ancient Two-Wheeler she drives start up, about the time the cops arrived after I called the cops!"

Wolf snrked. He stopped brushing his teeth as the sketches came up on the older screen though. "Citizens are advised to be aware of the pair of individuals, thought to be armed and dangerous, For those watching at home, you can see a sketch of them here. For the visually challenged, here is a description. The Female is around six feet tall, weighing around 140 pounds, in extremely fit shape, She is a blue-purple color, with albino highlights, and a pair of red eyes – pronounced fangs and is heavily pierced. The other figure, a lupine, was unable to be described accurately to the sketch artist. We've come up with a possible visual profile however."

Wolf just stared.

Krystal let the brush fall out of her mouth.

"... That is the most horrifying thing I've ever seen."

"... I agree."

"... We're getting the fuck off this rock."

"... I think it's looking at me."

Wolf turned off the TV with a shudder.

* * *

**Leon's Secret Base – Somewhere beyond Normal Lylan Space.**

Leon simply STARED at the holocast in front of him. "... Panther?"

"... I see it, Leon."

"... That... That can't be Wolf O'Donnell."

"Wolf O'Donnell would NEVER be Gay. And THAT is a picture of a complete Fruitcake." Panther leaned over to his woman and purred as he kissed her lightly, and stood up. "Dinner was wonderful, Leon. But, I and Marie, are going to retire for the night."

"Panther? Do you think the Gambit will work? I mean – with Starfox Out of the picture, do you really think no other Upstart Mercenary group will try to wipe us out?"

"Are you really that worried?"

"... Yes, Panther. I am."

"... It's possible, but, doubtful. I don't think we'll see one strong enough to resist us."

"By money or blood."

Leon looked out over the vats filled with a strange, glowing blue goop. "Are we sure this stuff is worth the trouble? Do we even know if it works?"

"It does. I should know. I wanted one of it's Test Subjects in my bed."

"... True. We've seen evidence. But... If the notes are correct... even with my modifications..." He watched the cloned infant anthropois lowered, then jerked out of the vats quickly. "What we're doing... it's... Obscene."

"You're the one who pushed for this. Who designed the system. Who hired, kidnapped, and brainwashed, the 'nannies'. With Star Fox on ice, and Wolf out of the picture – for good, we hope..." Panther still had a suspicion that Wolf had survived. "We've got a thousand to one chance of success."

"Maybe... Maybe the serum will work better. Two days is too short a life span."

"It has to. There's no way we can destroy Corneria City without it working as we need it to."

"And the test?"

"The Dragons will take care of it. The Serum's effects on full grown individuals will be thoroughly tested."

"That is... the best we can do. Star Fox is still in the detention center?"

"Separated from any escape with a solid mile of concrete, just as you said. The four of them are there, being fed with plastic utensils, in bio degrading bowls. The Robot is deactivated, and the Ship has been mostly deactivated."

Panther smiled. "And there is no one who knows a thing about it."

"So, on the whole... Only the emergence of some lost civilization, an alien race, or someone who knows how we both work... could stop us."

"You will rule the Lylat system. And I will have all the women I can woo."

"... Is Wolf Dead?"

"You ask me that every time we have dinner. As far as we know, yes. We did lose a Venom Cell today, but, all signs point to a domestic gang."

"How does a gang destroy a fully trained black ops team?"

"... I don't know."


	7. Bloody Withdrawl

Wolf Kept the ball cap pulled down over his face. The cowboy hat he -loved- so much was packed away in the luggage Krystal and he rolled behind them. Both were in disguises. They had to get off of Venom. Soon. The VPD was right on their asses, mainly for use of illegal weaponry. He had stashed the weapons somewhere safe – at least, the only weapon he still HAD from that sneak-thief Fennec – bastard had sold him guns with trackers implanted.

He looked at Krystal, who was dressed as a movie star. She looked the part and then some, And she smiled, looking radiant as she passed the forged tickets to the flight attendant before the security station. "Hi, I'm here to board the flight to Zoness."

"First class? Welcome aboard, Miss Blue. Your roadie is riding with you?"

"Of course. He's very good at his jobs. fluffers usually are."

The lynx behind the counter's fur shot straight up with embarrassment. Wolf inwardly growled. His 'persona' was that of Jake Jhonson, a professional fluffer in service to Amy Blue. It was... humiliating. Though a part of him acctu – Nope. He didn't let his mind wander down that path.

* * *

The morning venom sun burned off the ice on the tarmacs as the passenger shuttles – the one Krystal had elected to ride had been a middle class luxury shuttle – taxied into loading positions. He blinked into the sun coming through the window, and nodded to the madam manning the desk. She accepted his ticket, and he smiled, walking towards the loading corridor. Krystal was right in front of him, a slutty black dress that had NOTHING down her back till it hooked under her tail – a real 'escort' dress, actually. And GODDESS, was she sexy in it. He rolled the carry on he pulled with him, towards the room for the day long cruise. Krystal looked at her ticket number, and punched in the code for the door. It lifted open, and in they went, nervous tension racking their bodies.

"Fuuuuuuuuuck. I don't think I've hunched over that much since sniper training."

"Pfft. Try walking with a broomstick up your ass... I mean, wearing high heels."

"Pulled it off well. I told you to wear the flats."

"Shut it." She growled. She sat on the bed, her short dress riding up amazingly high. "I think this damn dress is gonna rub my tail raw. Every time a boob even TWITCHES in this thing, it rubs right up against the base of my tail... think I'll have a spot of short fur after this."

"Tch." He pulled off the ball cap, and tossed it aside. He ruffled his head fur, putting it back into it's proper state of 'dude' hair. They each relaxed.

Wolf farted. He just sighed happily as Krystal snickered lowly. "Careful, JAKE. Don't want to be a race fan."

"Shut it. I've been holding that damn thing for an hour."

"And yet, it was so wimpy."

"Smart ass."

"Yours does talk."

"... You win."

"Glad you finally admitted it." She laughed shraply.

She slowly sat up, adjusting herself. He didn't watch. Mainly out of gentlemanly conduct. They had come to this? Two former warriors, in disguises to escape the past? He sat up. The Intercom beeped.

"Thank you for choosing Zoness Space-liners, You are aboard the ZCS _Ocean Blue_ – We will be departing shortly! The winners of the Captain's table drawing are … The guests in room 308! We look forward to your company!"

Krystal and Wolf simultaneously groaned.

Wolf stood up, and looked towards Krystal.

"... what?" She asked him this as he just stared at her, a peircing gaze that saw right through her. She shuddered. She wanted that gaze to never leave her body. She couldn't hear what he said – but she could read his lips.

"... Ocean blue..." He adjusted, shaking his head. "Not important. Come on. Let's get ready."

The memory had come over him unbidden...

* * *

_The raven beside him at the bar smiled. "A lucky coin, an ocean blue, a cat'o'nine, a raven heart... and all of this before the gates of hell. Are you the one I see, the gunmetal grey Wolf. The blackheart of goldheart?"_

"_Excuse me?" Wolf looked to the curly headed raven._

"_In your journeys, you will meet a soft pawed woman who will change everything you are into something better. You will meet a being of no soul who's supreme wisdom shall save the lives of thousands. You will find a dark night that opens his wings to things beyond your ken. You will find a dragon." He smiled wickedly, his beak was chipped and cracked terribly, a sign that he never cared for it. The stench of carrion reeked from his mouth._

"_... Who are you?"_

"_I am Prophet.. I am a shaman. I am the universe's trash receptacle, even as I find that which must remain hidden." he laughed. "The future... Time, space, fire, water, wind, earth... even souls. I am a seven pointed shaman. I take into me the negative of the universe, and all I ask from the world about me is balance. Do you think that every good deed goes without balance? No..."_

_Wolf just looked at him like he was stupid._

"_Heh. You... you serve the balance." The Raven pointed at him with a shaking wing. His right eye shorted, going blank, and suddenly, Wolf's fur was on end. He was looking not at a living raven. He was looking at a … being that was the walking dead. Bones and hideousness. Disgusting, hellish appearance. He suddenly noticed both his eyes worked again, and the raven looked alive again. "You were once like myself... a rogue, balancing the good in the universe. But fate has changed you... The tarot falls differently, no longer is death as he should be. You are... a balance to your past..."_

_The Wolf shuddered – what he had seen was real. He couldn't dismiss it. "Stay alive, __**Winston Wolf O'Donnell**_... _I will be there, watching for you, when you come to bring justice to the gates." It stood, wavering... it's gait was that of – well, he could only describe it as a zombie._

_He followed. He didn't hide it. But as he stepped outside, he saw the raven turn... and it burst into a thousand bird – they screeched and tried to fly away, falling dead within inches of each other. Wolf had to prove it to himself. He stepped forward, and stepped on each of the dead ravens. Each one. They were all real. They were all dead._

_What he had failed to notice was the pattern they fell in – a seven pointed star._

* * *

"... What?" The words she got from his mouth weren't coherent – at least, she didn't think they were. All she could really remember of that conversation, not even a moment after it had passed, was the color of his living eye. Ocean blue, tinged with the steel gray of a hidden past. She shuddered. "Wolf..."

"It's... not important. In the least."

"... when you're ready."

Those words cut Wolf to the quick. But his motions barely stopped. The shadow on the wall looked at him accusingly. It sneered at him. It knew the truth. The truth he would never admit. That he could never escape his past. That that … prophet... was real. Every day it tormented him, screaming at him, even as he fought it back down. He blinked it away.

Wolf smiled, and nodded to the captain – clearly a Cyborg, The feline smiled at him. "You must be – Jack? And Amy Blue?" Krystal and he nodded as they sat down, the fine sea-serpent steaks cooked to their order before they arrived. It was meant to be a very casual dinner. "Well, I didn't mean that like you were married."

"It's fine. We get that occasionally."

"I couldn't see why." The female captain seemed to be very calculating. Too calculating, actually. Wolf could tell. She was trained. Espionage. Assassination. Something. It wasn't something as simple as intuition. It wasn't something like reading body language – Cyborgs had none, after all. It was more a trained, ground in sense of 'smell' as it were – not actual smell, just a feeling in the pit of his gut.

Krystal, however, for all of her skills, was helpless against this woman – Cyborgs – even those with human minds – couldn't be read by her. Simply because of the fact that there was no 'mysticism' in telepathy. Instead, it was a highly attuned sense of smell, sight, and a powerful memory that could remember every subconscious tick a body made - unless of course she was high on Saurian Crystals, in which case, she'd still be screwed. Cyborg brain patterns were atypical. Cyborgs lacked those familiar ticks she required to read a mind, that gave away that pattern of thought's em signature – it required conscious effort to move their mechanical bodies. "Ah. It's perfectly alright. We do tend to be a little bit of an 'odd couple' if you would."

"I understand. So, What are your professions?"

Wolf looked to Krystal.

"I'm in … entertainment. Jack is my... roadie."

"Oh? What format?"

"Holos." Krystal was getting nervous. She wasn't giving away signs, but she was nervous. Every memory she had of her training on Cernia came back in a flash – how to keep your tail still, how to keep your hands from twitching, your eyes from vibrating. The pupils from dilating. She faked a yawn, an excuse to dim her vision, and stretch, loosening muscles before she grabbed the fork. She slowly slipped her tail's base lower under her ass – painful, but it briefly paralyzed the appendage with pain. Her face was contorted in a fake yawn, but that hid the painful grimace easily. "I don't really think I'm all that famous."

"Oh? Anything I would have seen?"

Wolf inwardly snarled. FUCK. They'd been found out. But he didn't say anything, as Krystal did the talking. "Not unless you're a horny young male with a LOT of spending credits on hand."

* * *

The Captain of the boat smiled slyly. Good answer, Krystal Fox. ZSM Deck Captain Kusaru smiled. Her body was made of nearly full prostheses. "Well, I shan't be rude. Kari Kusaru." Wolf's ear twitched. The Captain's eyes slowed the motion down and replayed it as she blinked slowly. He knew her name. Who was this guy? The Dossier didn't have any information on this guy.

"Jack Jhonson. I guess you can figure out exactly what kind of roadie I am." Kari laughed. "I see. Well, the meals ARE here, so, let's not dither, shall we?"

Wolf ate – no sense in pretending. He'd already spent the entire conversation checking for poisons. The meals were clean. Krystal did as well – daintily, and classically, as if she were truly an escort. But all the while, Wolf's prosthetic eye was watching the cyborg lady. She was actually consuming the food. Possibly a burn tank? No. No thermal spikes. How? He shook it off with a fake laugh.

"Oh man, I'm bad."

"Hmm?" Kusaru looked at him with a look of interested intellect – namely, she was confused yet curious.

"Oh, I was just thinking – This reminds me of a script we rejected once."

"Ah. How?"

Before Wolf could chew his food up to answer, the ship's power flashed. He and Krystal looked at each other. Kusaru was already on the network.

* * *

_Status report?_

_I can't tell yet – something just caused the engines to go off line._

_It's not either one of these two. Neither one of them are prosthetic – and there's no record of technical expertise._

_I've got something – a – What? This can't be right... _

_What is it, Marsuka?_

_It's... It's a virus – It's turned the main engine into a bomb!_

* * *

Kusaru looked utterly shocked – Wolf and Krystal had already started moving. The Doors to the dining hall opened. And there was a spray of gunfire as wolf turned the table over and pulled the cyborg woman down out of the firing line.

"Think they followed us, Wolf?"

"Hell if I know. That was some kind of glitch in the power system, or someone tampered with the main engines. … yeah, Engines. It's what I'd do."

"Fuck." Krystal grabbed a knife off the ground. She held it southpaw, and looked at wolf, who just shook his head. "Too risky." She agreed.

"Hold on, you two." Kusaru spoke up. They both turned their gaze on her instantly.

"What?" Krystal said.

"I suppose now is as good a time as any. I'm Actually a Zonessian espionage agent. You, miss Fox, were on my short list of suspects in a very serious spree of crimes that have happened recently."

"Excuse me?"

"Long and short of it is – Zonessian intelligence presumed you were working as a sleeper agent for Star Wolf."

"Star Wolf is defunct. I should know. I'm Wolf O'Donnell." The steel gray wolf said to her. The Cyborg blinked. "Damn it. Thrown to the wolves, it seems. I won't let you do this."

"Excuse me? Lady, I'd have NEVER chosen this boat to knock over. It's a crap target. Civilians are NOT good cargo to haul around in space. None of the food is made to keep. This is all just rubbish." He sighed. "Now excuse us. We have a boat to save."

"What? Wait -"

Wolf and Krystal had already begun moving. The Military-styled breach and clear team had reached their table, and as soon as they peeked out, blaster fire came raining in.

Krystal's highly tuned eyes and lithe strength gave her a distinct advantage as she literally somersaulted over the table, blasters singing past her fur. She Faked a cut right, and the man on her left went down, her sharpened nails – hidden by fake acrylics, pierced his neck, as her right hand flew to his gun, turning his spray and pray method of fire back on his fellows. The assault rifle railed two men almost instantly as the owner of the gun began to sizzle away under the directed light beams.

Wolf, on the other hand, had nothing but experience and skill to guide him. A quick, predatory turn, on all fours, had him out of the cover of the table. His fangs sank deep into the first man's neck, and he bowled him over, jumping to the next piece of prey in an instant, blood splattering his fur as he ripped the man's throat open. A blast pierced his arm, and he snarled, landing on the offending shooter, a good four foot away, his claws gouging out the man's eyes as he ripped the gun away with his free hand, already turning to snap his jaws through the dog beside his prey's face. The motion was brutal and efficient, Wolf's jaws were trained for this kind of thing – the motion snapped the dog's cheek bones, and busted his eyes open, leaving him dead from shock before he hit the ground, wolf readying the gun he'd snatched in moments.

Krystal dropped her furry shield as she kicked a pair of assault rifles up from her fallen prey, and threw one to the captain, aiming the other with her left hand, sending a beam of light down field, slamming a red armored commander in the face with the bolt, the head shot ripping through the horse's head, splattering gore behind him as she did a diving roll to the side, ending up behind a tumped over chair. She checked the charge on the gun, and jumped from the cover as it dissolved in a flash of light lances – She was just barely quick enough to slide below the next table and tump it over, breathing heavily.

Wolf's blaster rifle riddled a target with shells as he slowly strafed, going into a 'grunt walk' – the low slung long stepping motion keeping his torso completely steady as his cybernetic eye instantly sighted down the rifle, the triple bolts of light each pull of the trigger brought unleashing hell on the boogies. They dropped, one after another as his quick steps served as distraction for Krystal, as he picked off shooters aiming at her – and she returned the favor, her instantaneous reflexes giving her slightly less accurate firing spread an uncanny attribute of 'luck' – One that was saving Wolf's life. Kusaru emerged from hiding, her gun leveled – and she was a snap shot. Each motion brought a single bolt of light right into a man's head.

It was over in seconds.

Krystal limped back to Wolf and Kusaru, the dead men still smoking in the acrid Ozone filled room. Her hip was burnt, badly, but she was mostly okay. Wolf had a pair of blaster wounds on his left arm, the cauterized wounds still smoking as the high powered laser burns still sizzled. Kusaru was completely unharmed. She looked at the two biological warriors in awe. They looked like shit, but they had just reacted almost instantly. Less than Ten seconds, really.

"Kusaru. Round up the crew and passengers. Expect Resistance. Krystal, I need you to find anything alive in that pile." Wolf pointed with his rifle. "And make an example of it. Put a grenade in it's mouth and throw it down a hall. It'll make a nice kill zone for you. Hold fast there." Krystal blinked. Distasteful, but she could tell he was in full 'commander' mode. He picked up another gun, not even wincing at his wounds. "I'm headed to the Engine room. Acquire a comms system however you can – Channel 0.04E – I'll be in touch.

"Hold. How do I know this isn't some Star Wolf plot?"

Wolf grabbed the cyborg by the neck. He lined up his right eye with hers, and she blinked. Suddenly, she was flooded – snapshots of the last few days. Then he dropped her before she could react. "There's your proof. Disseminate those amongst your allies." He smiled, and pulled a pair of pistols up, throwing them in the waistband of his pants. He pulled up the assault rifle with the lowest charge, and sighted it, then headed for the ventilation systems.

"Wolf."

He looked back at Krystal.

"How long do we have?

"Five. Maybe ten minutes."

"Be safe."

"... Don't get hurt." Was all he said to that – but everything about his presence gave away something with more weight. She shuddered. "Go." Was all he said. They split up, Kusaru and Krystal checking bodies for the living. Wolf leapt to the vent, and disappeared inside it, a knife in his jaws.

* * *

**Krystal's Story**

Krystal couldn't find a single living contact – but she had acquired a headset. She slipped it on, and picked up the smallest corpse, carrying it with her as she headed towards the atrium. "Wolf, Can you hear me?"

"Roger." His voice was echoing in the vents, but she couldn't hear him moving. But he was booking it. "You know what I meant by it makes a Kill zone, right?"

"Not exactly. I'm not used to this kind of Warfare."

"Stick the grenade in his mouth, and pull the pin, throw him face down. It should direct enough of the concussion wave to push up the floor plating – Let it cool, then use it as cover. There won't be anything left of the body, so don't worry about standing in gore."

"You know too much about this."

She heard the sound of a stopping fan as he exhaled loudly. "I've practiced."

* * *

She saw a group of soldiers in the next room. "Engaging." She tossed the body forward. "Hey, Ass jacks!" They all looked to her as the grenade exploded, sending spires of metal skyward, sheering aluminum plates up into defensive barriers. She dived behind one, and with her exceptional sight, sighted down, and took the first surprised man right through the left eye – He dropped so fast the gun hadn't even fired off it's second bolt. Time seemed to slow as a sort of battle trance set in, her semi-automatic three round burst rifle firing it's second shot, clipping a man's jugular – causing a burst of cauterized blood that simply became a jet of blood after a moment. The third round slammed dead center into the next man's chest, his armor refracting the laser bolt and spreading it over his armor. Her Trance wore off almost instantly as she dove directly behind the cover, a hail of light so thick as to be a wall came crashing down onto the sheet of reflective aluminum, and she heard a chorus of screams.

"I pulled up the side that ain't burnt, dumb asses!" She taunted as the men stopped their firing spread. She peeked out, and pulled the trigger once, two dropping in the trio of bullets. She heard them communicating. She dove back into the hall, tempting more gunfire. She ran like hell, gun pulled up tight to her chest. She jumped, turning, eyesight giving her that split second advantage her Ninja-to Training allowed her to use like she did. Before she touched down, she flipped the gun to single fire, it's bolts now more powerful, and fired, letting the gun's recoil turn her back around, and she hit the floor running as fast as she could.

They blinked. She was gone. Two men, standing there – one now. A bolt of light caught him right in the chest. He gulped. "... What the fuck?"

"Goodnight." He heard. A bullet pierced his brain. He died.

* * *

Krystal looked out from her hallway hide out – a conveniently placed pillar, really, and sighed. That last ditch shot had solved the problem. She grunt walked up, checking every damn corner. And smiled. The blitz had worked wonderfully. Then she heard a boot behind her.

She turned, and leaned back, gun swinging out in front of her. The sword slashed just between her breasts, bisecting the gun, sending it crashing to the floor as she performed a low backwards spring roll, hands catching her weight, and elbows propelling her backwards. An evening dress was nothing to be kicking ass in, she decided, as she slid because she landed on the cloth. She reached down, nails grabbing the fabric and ripping it, leaving her in scant but her skivvies. "Give a girl a moment to get decent." She said.

The would be assassin blinked. He watched her rip the fine, thousand dollar dress into two strips, tying one around her breasts, and the other, her hips.

"Right. Let's do this." She said.

As she charged, she kept quiet, silence being just as much a weapon as anything else. Her footsteps, her motions – everything about her was silent. To her, all the background noises of the ship faded away. Only the target mattered, an intense battle focus that left her with one target, and one target alone.

The man really didn't expect any of her moves – Ninja-to was not a prolific martial art anyway, preferring to strike before stricken – in adverse to most martial codes. But her motions were impossible to follow. She Lunged at him and he slashed, a broad horizontal strike – And he missed terribly. Her lunge took him in the chest, and he tried to grab, but the tribally dyed vixen simply rammed her elbows into his, and headbutted his jowls, sending the bulldog swordsman bowling over as she leapt over him. She didn't stop moving. Her bare feet slid on the slick polished surface of the ground, and she scooped up a gun, using it to shoot out the lights.

The only light were strips of white light coming from the windows facing solar. He scrambled to his feet. "Demon..." he said, suddenly frightened.

She was silent – her feet never seemed to actually collide with the floor, as if she were simply skating on a thin layer of air. He was wearing a light combat armor – but a single slash to that thin layer of ballistics and energy protection would bleed it's electrically hardening fluids in a moment. She quickly raked her claws through the spider-silk like material. It was as hard as steel – but so were her claws. They ripped clean through the material, and black, gritty goop flooded out. He blinked as his armor suddenly weighed about thirty pounds more. "Wh – where?" He exclaimed and turned, just in time.

His sword swing was well placed, but poorly timed. It slashed, right before her nose was in range of the perfectly bisecting vertical strike. The Katana sang as it collided with floor, he had not restrained the blow. Her bare foot collided with the flat backside of the blade, and in almost slow motion, he could see it.

Her body sank through the darkness like a damned shadow. Her face, when it came into the light of solar was a pure, and utter black, as if the shadows clung to her. Eyes seemed to be bright red. Claws, a gleaming white. Her fangs, a sick blood red. Her tongue, barely visible, an eerie blue. As the shock of seeing her so close wore off, her 'color' seemed to return to normal – far, far too late. Her right hand was pulled back, a perfect knife point strike. It burrowed her claws right between his eyes, chemically hardened claws (A necessity for any warrior on the go.) boring right through bone and flesh. Her palm as well, sunk deep into his head, sliding through flesh and bottoming out against the backside of his skull. She jerked her hand free, and rolled, toes gripping the blade, her left hand colliding with the deck as she did a one handed handstand. Her right hand, still slick with blood, grasped the handle of the blade, pulled it away from her feet, and flourished, cleaving the man's head from his shoulders.

She stood there, the upper half of her body illuminated in light. Blood splashed her fur. It would cake later, she knew. But it didn't matter. Her eyes were closed. She heard the tip of the blade sing, subtle vibrations carried to her ear as she turned and lowered her body, the blade going from standard to southpaw in a moment, held along her forearm, and it blocked the blow perfectly perpendicular. The Feline snarled from the shadows, giving him away. Her body sprang forward, forearm sliding the blade all the way to the hilt, and ramming the feline's unsteady grip upwards, sparks seeming to fall throughout her fur as she stood, pulling the blade to her left, and ramming it, tip first, straight through the man's gut from his right side. She took a step to the left, and using her left hand to brace the pommel, she spun her entire body, blood splattering her fur again, as his spine erupted behind him. He fell, dead, as she brought the blade into a Kendo stance. She exhaled firmly, but not loudly. Two came at her together, one high, one low. She kicked her left foot forward, and drilled out with her right, catching the first man in the stomach.

The man behind blinked as a blade flashed through his face so fast he barely had time to go blind. The last thing he saw was this woman, her eyes closed, covered in blood, a bloody ribbon following the tip of the sword.

As his partner screamed, The swordsman with the foot in his stomach just barely began to recover when the emergency lights kicked in. A furious vixen was looking at him, her sword already cleaving through his neck. As he blinked, he realized his view was off. He couldn't breathe. Had no pulse. His head plopped down, and rolled, and he was looking directly at his body as it fell on top of his head.

* * *

The emergency lights filled the room, the blood covered vixen looking up at a pair of lizards. Instantly, she knew. These were warriors.

"Krystal Fox. An odd name - "

"And an odder style. Is that Ninja-to?"

She did not speak. She merely readied herself as they slowly stepped down the stairs.

"Of course it is, sister." The first one answered.

"Why wouldn't it be?" The second one questioned.

"Another question. Do you never answer these inane questions yourself?" The first didn't not move her eyes from Krystal. Sight. This one used her eyes. She could feel it in her bones. The other? She could not tell.

"Only when you're not around. I do get ever so lonely."

"Then keep her skin."

Krystal couldn't really hear the discussion. Only the sound's origin mattered to her. Her mind was actively collecting only information that 'mattered' to her situation. It was a hard switch from her normal hyper awareness to this new 'focused' awareness. Something she had trained for for years. Her mind was beginning to spin a bit from the focus. A stray thought always threatened to break her focus. But thankfully, they did not speak longer.

They charged in unison, then crossed paths, one slowing behind the other, their blades sang along the floor, and suddenly, every nerve in her body responded with the same, instant warning. She Turned, and ran, straight for a wall, even as the mere motion of running drove the blades of the twin lizards clean through the heavy assault armor worn by the gunmen laying on the floor. They ran faster than her, no showmanship now. They raised their blades behind her, and readied their slash.

It was a brief flash of metal. The blades tore completely through the wall off the cruiser. Klaxons blared. Krystal barely contained a yip as she landed behind one of her targets, and raised her blade as a southpaw vertical strike aimed at taking one of them – Krystal's eyes identified her as the sight sister – by surprise. A twitch from the other twin caused her to respond. Krystal's blade instantly became a defense, parrying the incoming blade. She dodged back, on three limbs, lips pulled taut. Her entire muscle system was coiled, ready to strike.

The other sister moved, a pair of kunai appearing in her hand, and she chucked them at Krystal. The Fox quickly dodged to the side. She rolled back and did a handspring, and landed with a somersault by the blades, grabbing one, and holding it in her off hand, standing up, a southpaw grip on both. She rushed for them, her body slung low, and the returned the favor, almost jumping from body to body. She smiled, and turned her body, sliding on the blood-slicked floor, and locking her claws into the ground to gain traction as both blades sang over her head. She leapt forward, throwing the kunai right at the farthest sister, prompting an evade. Her sword sang in the air, and the other sister leapt, diving out of range. She pressed the attack. Her feet lacked the traction the geti provided the two sisters, but it didn't matter. Her feet didn't slip unless she wished them to. Her foot claws would lock into the ground, and she ran with the aid of those, pursuing her prey.

She slashed horizontally, her mind releasing the 'kiyai' that was a common call during a strike. Then vertically, she cut, and missed again. She continued to pressure the woman, who jumped back and back and back, her eyes focused on the one behind Krystal. She faked three more attacks, the feints successfully driving the woman back. She slowed for just a moment, then rolled forward as the blade behind her sang through fur, and scratched her flesh, a clean, smooth cut that left her bleeding. Her roll, however, forced the heel of her foot into the woman behind her's crotch, causing a grunt as she pushed her other foot out, sending it directly into an ovary, and propelling the woman forward and off of her foot. She collapsed on the ground, one arm on her stomach as she tried to get up. The first charged, and Krystal was ready and on the defensive.

A horrizontal slash was blocked, and not riposted, as she had planned, by a flourish. She paid with blood as the sword left a thin cut across a rib. She countered with a swift knife edge hand chop to the woman's elbow, disrupting her next blade attack, and giving krystal the time to dodge back. She however, pressed in with another attack, striking without warning. The jumping, spinning slash was very showy – and it usually had the same effect it did now; The woman raised her blade to block, but the sheer momentum and angle of the cut caused her blade to shatter, Krystal's target all along. Krystal dropped, the southpaw gripped blade now used as if the pommel of the hilt were her fist, she attacked.

The lizard unwisely discarded her four inches of blade. Hand to hand, however, she was just as formidable. Striking with talons, sharp and treated, she carried a low vertical slash through Krystal's hip, making a trio of nasty, but shallow, cuts. Krystal, however, simply open palmed the woman in the cheek, spinning her head, and sent her elbow, hard as steel, flying into the back of the woman's head. The dull thud knocked the woman out for half a moment, and sent her crumbling. As she struggled to regain her self and footing, Krystal moved to the next target. Her opponent readied a strike, and swung vertically, Krystal's last step was with her right paw, and she didn't use her claws to maintain traction. She slid, to the right, out of the slash's cut, and slashed the back of the blade hard, burying it in circuitry below the floor. The blades sparked brightly as the lights went out in the room, and they were fused together, Krystal's palm scorched by the feedback from the electrical blast. She yipped, and jumped back, falling, scrambling, muscles convulsing as the two lizards recovered.

As she gained her footing, still jerking slightly, she exhaled. The convulsions stopped. The lull in the action was needed. Krystal had to regain her bearings in the dark. She silently cursed. Her claws would give her away, and the floor – and her feet – were soaked in blood, severely hampering her ability to be silent.

"She ruined my blade..."

"And my body..."

"You're dead, bitch."

Krystal smirked in the darkness. "I'm not a bitch. I'm a Vixen."

They both charged, geti clopping loudly on the floor. Idiots.

Her right paw slipped forward, and she began the punch from her left heel. The muscles all contracted, one after another, in sequence, through her leg, hips, abdomen, back, shoulder, right forearm, and then, into her fist as she unleashed the monstrous haymaker, colliding the punch with the face of the woman in front, the closest geti clop timed right with the monstrous push of her fist, driving past her opponents face. The woman shrieked, her face nearly obliterated by the punch, bones shattered – even in Krystal's hand – and flesh broke, and instantly became black bruises. The woman flipped, the feel of broken facial bones and adrenaline combined with the instant disorientation of the blow made her vomit as she hit the ground, face first, rolling, and gagging horribly. Krystal felt a hand grasp her shoulder. Then, the pain began.

The knee collided with her solar plexus, sending the air out of her body, despite her best efforts at mitigating the damage. The Elbow collided with a rib, fracturing the bone from her spine, and leaving it somewhat floating in her body, as she was sure her solar plexus had shattered under the knee strike. Breathing was neigh impossible at the moment, as the attack from her captor continued. The woman's hand, balled tight, collided with her side, and a second knee slammed her hip where it was wounded, smashing against bone, and sending Krystal spinning to the ground, a gouge of flesh ripped from her shoulder. She gasped, and rolled away as the geti came down beside her, hammering the floor so hard it made sparks. She rolled again, and came to her hands and knees, forcing herself to breath steadily.

"COMERE' BITCH!" The mobile one shouted, and leapt for her shadow. Krystal lifted her body up, and grabbed the woman by the waist. She stayed on her knees, and leaned her body back as her hands wrapped around the bitch's hips. The motion didn't really wound her opponent, but it put her on the floor. Krystal quickly, still out of breath, pulled up, hips mounting the woman, and her claws finding breast, tearing into meat as she pulled her upper body up, and collided her right fist, still broken from the earlier fight, right into the lizard's eye socket. Flesh protected her eye from the monstrous assault, that was weakened by the pain in Krystal's right hand. The woman tried to block, but instead, hooked Krystal's left arm, pulling furrows of flesh from her own body as she jerked her arm out to the side, her other hand colliding with Krystal's nose in a simple boxing jab, sending her head reeling. The lady Fox's right hand opened, claws coming to bear, ring finger hanging almost limp from the broken bones. The swift slash of her palm rending the woman's face, causing her grip on Krystal's left arm to weaken. Krystal didn't stop, the woman was mounted and locked, and Krystal had nine good claws.

She slashed, and slashed, and slashed, using the tips of her claws to cut through the leather armor the woman wore, and the flesh she had exposed. The motions were brutal and fast, sending blood splattering. The woman was on the pure defensive, blocking like a TV martial artist might. However, Krystal wasn't a TV martial artist. She was a real one. As soon as the block went high, her cutting motions went low, forcing a motion in the block to try to protect her stomach.

Again and again Krystal would dodge the block, her momentum building with every cut. The woman was bleeding out already, screaming in fear as panic took over, her arms flailing to attempt to stop the pain, but Krystal didn't even flinch. Hurt and wounded and cornered, she was attacking with all her strength, some blows raking bone now.

The emergency lighting came on as the woman stopped moving. You couldn't tell she had been a lizard – or even a woman. Meat was piled around Krystal, and burried so deeply in her claws it hurt. She stood, panting, her ring finger swollen so badly she couldn't even move it. And she turned, smoothly to face the other woman. She rolled, agony filling her every fiber, on the ground, seemingly trying to escape. But Krystal's left hand locked, firmly, exposing claws. She lashed out, her left hand burying claws so deep in her Prey's throat it was amazing as her right hand grabbed her prey's smooth head, and forced it back, the one good eye the woman had looking up at Krystal, fur matted with blood and meat, one eye covered by blood soaked hair, and the other filled with murderous intent. She squeezed, tearing meat as she collapsed the woman's throart, and then, she twisted her palm, and ripped, tearing out her prey's throat. The lizard tried to strike back, tried to do anything, but it was too late.

Krystal slowly stood, muscles aching, as Kusaru ran into the top of the hall. "Krystal! Come on! This room is out gassing."

Krystal nodded, limping up the stairs rather quickly as she heard firing bolts beginning to snap all around the area of the ship. Bulkheads slammed down on the lower floor, and Krystal barely rolled out of the doorway as the last bulkhead slammed down, the main atrium completely sealed from the rest of the ship. She collapsed, and breathed heavily. Kusaru looked at her with a new kind of respect.

* * *

**Kusaru's Story**

Being a Cyborg, Kusaru had the advantage of unlimited endurance, and an amazingly bad ass set of 'features' – thanks to her job. Thermal, Night, and optical vision, enhanced strength, reflexes, and even a few suites of hacking software, she was built for completing the mission, whatever the cost. As The other two – Wolf and Krystal – went about their presumed 'mission' – she contacted HQ.

_So, should I play along? That's Wolf O'Donnell – biggest Criminal scum in the galaxy._

_You should. _Her Opperator, a mostly biological man with just a few upgrades, sitting about half an AU away, responded. He lowed quickly. _They may be criminals now – but honestly, having two combat ready warriors who've proven themselves may be a serious asset in liberating the ship. There's gotta be at least two hundred to take that cruiser. Also, the figure of interest in this mission has been killed._

_What, already? Damn. Intell was sure they were going to capture him instead._

_Apparently not, Captain. The chief says the safety of the civilians is top priority. He's pretty adamant that you save as many of them as you can._

_That's the plan Wolf gave me as well._

A different voice cut in over the comms system. _Captain? Work with him. I don't know why he's acting like a hero when it's more his style to be running this kind of thing, but Wolf O'Donnell is rather notorious for steering clear of Civilian vessels – there are a few Extra-net Vi-docs of his crew saving some Civilian cruisers with no real value – like he already knew they didn't have anything they needed. Be aware. The chances of him being able to disarm the bomb are quite high. Have faith in him – He survived Star Fox and the Apparoid Crisis. He's proven he's got the mettle._

_Are you actually suggesting I might recruit him?_

_Absolutely not. That's just a political shitstorm waiting to happen!_

Her operator cut back in. _Besides. Underground records show he's recently purchased a black market fast attack cruiser. He could be trying to get back in the business._ The line went quiet for a moment. _Commander says to cooperate for now – He's got something to do. Until he returns, Wolf O'Donnell is not to be unreasonably separated from you._

_Damn it, Marsuka, this is the kind of thing that gets our department in trouble._

_That's exactly why we're not a public group._

* * *

Checking the bodies in the large dining hall of a kilometer long cruise ship is a bit – well? It's boring, gross, and overall distasteful. She finally gave up after ten minutes, and instead, headed towards the bow of the ship. Her enhanced ears picked up the sound of footsteps, and she took cover behind a hall pillar. The two men in tactical armor came through. "Team 46, We've cleared the Banquet hall perimeter. All guests are locked down or terminated. Marked rooms cleared."

She came out as they passed her pillar. Her hands were smooth and soundless as they snapped the first's neck. His buddy turned at the sound of snapping bones, only to receive a blow from her foot, shattering his nose, and driving it into his brain. She checked the bodies.

_Marsuka, is their any armor on this ship? Weaponry?_

_Negative, Captain. Not a trace. Best bet is to POS._

_Roger._

So, she proceeded to procure on site.

The two men were slim but powerful – and close to her size. She quickly slipped into the armor, and pulled up a gun and one of the helmets. She tapped into the comms suite. "Time to find out who these two are working for...

"Get the Dragon Sisters to the Atrium, We've – GAH!"

"Oh shi – What the fuck is she BLECH"

"Oh …. damn it *fzzt*She's gone!"

Dead air.

"What the fuck?" She heard Krystal's voice from a distance. Couldn't make out the words.

"This is the Dragon Sisters. Polawski authorized no casualties! Who is DYING out here? We've already lost enough to compromise security!"

"Mistresses, We can't help it, Wolf O'Donnell and Krystal Fox were On board in disguise!"

"Idiot wretches. Lexi and Kura are on their way to dispatch the Fox. I'll track down Wolf."

"We have a third contact."

Kusaru turned, looking right at the cybernetic lizard. "Who's been listening to us. Discontinue radios. Code Alpha Ex Blue."

All the radios went dead. "Fuck." Kusaru said. She dodged the haymaker punch, and barely avoided the switchblade in the woman's elbow.

"A combat Chassis, huh? Suppose that means I can't hack your protocols."

"Fat chance." She attacked again, the heavier, bulkier chassis of the combat lizard cyborg could trash most of her internal components with one blow. It pulled a gun on her, and aimed quickly, perfectly sighting.

Kusaru's CQC protocols kicked in, and she pulled the armor's combat knife, slashing her opponents gun, and sending it flying away. She fell into a common military martial arts stance, and the spar was on.

Punches flew left and right, Kusaru using her body's mobility to dodge, while the combat cyborg just blocked the punches, which Kusaru had to pull at the last moment because of the harder alloys the cyborg was no doubt made of. She bobed and weaved as needed, but mostly didn't, incorporating lotus transience protocols and other mitigating techniques to limit the damage she took. She finally growled, feline face wrinkling as she jumped back twice. "Chickenshit." The opponent called. She smirked, and pulled out a sledge hammer, slung across her back. Kusaru's eyes widened as the woman swung at her so fast the plastic handle bent. She jumped back, the sledge hitting with enough force to shatter the metal plating of the wall. The shards scattered along the floor and she jumped back twice more.

Coming up with a blank on combat protocals, she nearly balked as the hammer swung straight into the floor at a stress seam. Plating buckled madly as part of the ship caved in, the entire floor for ten foot simply going out from under them. They landed rather roughly about 12 foot below, and Kusaru was the first up. Her first instinct was to flee and observe her opponent. So she followed it. She dashed backwards, then turned, and ran as fast as she could, her systems built for speed and stealth rather than combat. But that didn't mean she was helpless. Around the corner, into the closet, and out of the armor.

The bulky tactical armor would protect her from bullets, and the like, but not from a mad scaler cyborg with a sledge. She quickly removed it, leaving herself in naught but a leotard. Her soft footpads didn't creak as she activated her stealth systems. She left the room quietly, looking around. A breif glimpse was all she needed at the cyborg lady. She quickly dived towards the woman, claws out. The blow was feirce, and bit into metal, shearing it away as she jerked her hand to the side, popping off a plate, false blood and coolant splattering the deck. Her Stealth system shimmered, and she appeared. "Shit!" She said, and jumped back, barely avoiding a retaliatory strike of the hammer. It swung wide, slamming into the side wall. The matience deck hissed as it was struck.

Kusaru was panting with the effort, internal circuirty heating up. She dodged beneath another blow, and dashed away. "NO YOU DON'T!" The cyborg glowed blue. The crushing impact of a shoulder rush sent Kusaru head over heels, and a blow from the hammer send her flying. Her left arm snapped under the stresses of the blow, but she was otherwise fine. She grunted, and got up, the cyborg's hyperspeed belt shimmering and going dim. One surprise she didn't have to fret about for a bit.

Kusaru looked around, and frowned. She was isolated. The cyborg stormed towards her, and she barely turned to the side, avoiding the blow, but the bulkhead behind her had a new hole in it, ripped wider as the cyborg withdrew the hammer, and swung it, hard towards the feline cybernetic. She ducked low, the hammer coming up, ready to come down. Then suddenly she realized.

This was an Airlock.

She reached up, and hit the button as the hammer smashed into the door one more time, cracking the metal badly. The sudden, massive depressureization pulled the cyborg towards the door just enough to trip her. The Cyborg's body slammed into the door, and the cracks opened wider, sending the cyborg shrieking towards the dark. Kusaru quickly hit the emergency seal button. The Cyborg's still twitching legs shuddered and jerked. Kusaru blinked hard, holding her left arm.

_Marsuka!_

_Quick thinking, Captain._

_It's not over yet! How much time do we have?_

_Krystal seems to be in trouble. Her section of the ship is outgassing, but power is so low in that section the emergency bulkheads can't slam down. She needs help!_

_Roger! On my way!_ As she sent out the 'instant message', she ran like hell, crossing through the dining hall. She crossed into the main atrium, just in time to see Krystal covered in blood, the bulkheads beginning to ease closed. "Krystal! Come on! This room is outgassing."

Krystal ran towards her, and she finally exhaled, collapsing back to the floor. Krystal was... very impressive. The blood covered vixen frowned a bit, the pain of her injuries setting in.

* * *

**Wolf's Story**

All Wolf needed was a patch of grease on his cheek and he'd feel like he was back in BT. He crawled a little deeper, and suddenly, the tunnel opened, but the hot gas blasting through really began to blast his fur. Wind ripped and dry eyed, he checked the distance he had to run, and closed his eyes, to preserve what moisture he had, and ran forward, blindly. He stopped suddenly, and opened his eyes to check distances. He heard something.

"GYAHHHHH! NOOOO – Ghuck... gluck..."

"Hehehehehehe... Is it here... HAS IT COME TO THE FUNHOUSE!"

"... What the fuck?" Wolf said to himself, and suddenly, he felt something in his body give. He felt the wind push him back a bit as a series of spines ripped clean through the bottom of the duct, barely missing his muzzle. His left boot hit the floor, and he dodged forwards. The spines rocked up just behind him. As he touched down ahead of the first set of spines, he rolled to the side. The shocking accuracy of the 'shooter' was amazing. Every time he made the slightest noise, he instantly had to dodge, a burst of spines shattering the metal below him. He heard insane cackling, then a shriek of pain.

"No,no,noNUONONYAHHH!" Wolf ran. A wave of spines so dense it all but obbliterated the floor of the ducts came rushing at him, and he ran like spines stopped firing just after he turned a corner, breathing roughly. He looked back. The metal fell out of the floor, and he snarled, the challenge was too much to ignore. He turned, and jumped down into the room.

He immediately wished he hadn't.

Everywhere around him, people were pinned to the wall – most of them were still alive. They groaned in agony. The billards room of the cruise ship was covered completely in a fine sheen of blood. And in the middle of the chaos? Something he couldn't describe.

It's body was disgusting – legs less than a foot long supported a body almost seven long. Four arms, the size of a feral gorilla's adorned it's body. It shrieked in agony, spines that covered every inch of it's body flying out with jets of blood. They ripped right into a man pinned to the wall by his arm's legs. The man shrieked, and stuttered, before vomiting, sick, foaming green fluid spilling across the floor.

"What the heck?" was all he said.

It shuddered, and turned up at him – huge ears the size of a bat's. The eyes on it's face were blood red, and compound. It hissed and seethed. It's mouth looked like that of a fur. Wolf gagged, looking at it. "Help... mmeee..." it said, it's voice completely different.

"KYHAHAHAHAHA!" It roared. "The masters gave us the change, IT IS GLORY GACKAGGGGHHHHH!" It fell to it's side, shuddering, jets of blood shot from it's back.

Wolf aimmed at it, and unloaded a full clip right at the creature. He roared in fury, but as the ozone stopped hazing his vision, he could see – the spines were conductive. They raced with energy, and the creature screamed, and lifted an arm. It shrieked with pain, and wolf dropped down to the ground. A thousand – no, a hundred thousand- spines rocked from it's form, sparks forming a web between themselves, and they ripped into the wall sending waves of electrical current through the corpses there – the impact of countless spines and the energy of countless charges of blaster quality energy explosions tore the bodies asunder. Wolf screamed as the blood that propeled the spines touched his body. It burned so badly his fur was smoking. He jumped off the ground, pain rocketing to his mind so hard it was blinding him. No wonder this thing was shrieking in pain. It's blood was acid.

"You!" He looked over – a man in armor laid to the side, his gun destroyed, just hiding from the beast. "It's invulnerable! Fuck Polawski's dumbass mission. I'm getting out of here. Fuck his goddamn serum!" THe gunman tossed the vial, and Wolf snagged it up, shuddering with pain as the burning acid sensation subsisded. It was not a plesant sensation. "I'll find you." Wolf said with a veiled threat. But he wouldn't have to make good on the promise. The beast charged. It turned to the gunman. "What! NO! NOOOO!"

It simply fell on him. The man shrieked in utter horror. And then shut up. The beast shuddered, it's flesh rippled before Wolf's eyes. It's back snapped, and the furry's jaws split – and then fell off. It's four 'arms' spread wider, and it's eyes shifted back, it's 'legs' growing immensely, and taking up a shape reminenscent of pair of scorpion stingers. Wolf Couldn't retreat. Couldn't find a way to flee. It blocked the only exit. It's eyes went fully compound, and suddenly, a massive jaw opened before him. It roared in sheer agony, green globs of something coming up. And it hacked. Repeatedly.

Wolf watched in horror as it spit up the remains of a man. He bent down, picking up a id tag covered in slime. He wiped it off. "... Congressman Smithers?"

He shuddered. The creature was still morphing. But then it looked at him. "Grah... " The sound it emitted was so... horrible. Wolf instantly ran, jumping over a overturned pool table as a burst of spines flew right over his head. They splattered into a red and green soup against the wall. He looked around, then blinked. He had something that might work. He fished out a sidearm he had taken from a corpse. The spines around him gave him an idea. He lifted one up, and hissed through his teeth as he shoved it into the barrel. It burned, and was covered in quills. He growled. He rammed the gun against the ground, and nodded. That thing wouldn't be coming out. He reached down, and cut off a length of shoe lace. He quickly tied it crudely around the trigger and slid it over to automatic. He heard it begin to charge. The creature shrieked again. He could tell it was still changing. He looked out. The creature shrieked widely, it's maw so large he could easily fit four times into it. He lobbed the gun that couldn't fire at the creature, and blinked as it purposefully reached forward and gobbled it up.

Wolf hid.

The creature gulped. Then it hacked loudly. And he could hear it charging even more. The creature could feel electricity ran over it's spines. Wolf held his hands over his head, and made himself small. It just stood there. Seconds passed. He could hear it hacking and growling.

And without warning...

SPLOOCH!

The gun exploded, sending spines everywhere in the room. Chunks of it's mutated body splattered all around him. Wolf stood. The entire room was … disgusting. Wolf Vomited. He looked around. He panted as he fished something out of his pocket. He smiled, and pulled a dirty, crumpled recipt out of his pocket, and a lighter. He walked towards the door, and opened it before he lit the piece of paper, and then tossed it into the room, closing the door before it touched the blood.

The rush of air out of every room next to it to pull in air so the fire could burn was so fast it nearly ripped the door behind him off it's hinges, and then, he heard the familiar 'shwoop' of a forced outgas. The ventilation system screamed loudly as every ventilation airlock purged into space. Wolf gasped loudly as he heard the hiss of repressurization.

He looked in the room behind him. Nothing was left. He nodded.

"... Whatever Leon's doing... It's sick."

He blinked – The engine room was right ahead of him. He kicked the door open, and stepped inside. A platypus stood infront of the computer systems there, dead men beside him. Wolf was quiet as he walked forward, his footfalls muffled by the sounds of the malfunctioning engines. He smiled, and wrapped his hands around the furry's head – it quacked in shock, and then, wolf turned it's head completely around, ripping the flesh above it's neck bones, and pulling a vein and tendon outside of the far side of it's neck. It dropped, and it's head sickly tried to roll away. Wolf stomped it's neck hard with his boot, and severed even more of the muscles. Again. And again. And the head rolled free.

He pulled up the engine commands. He looked at it, and hit the shutdown key. It popped up with an error screen. He rolled his eyes, and pulled out the keyboard. He keyed his radio. "What's the administrating password for the ship, Kusaru?"

"Cerulean, why?"

He keyed it in, and then hit the shutdown button once more. The engine jetisoned it's fuel instantly, firing a chunk of nuclear reacting metal clean out of a thruster. It burned out in moments. He nodded. The entire boat went dark.

"Disaster averted. Bringing up backup engines." Kusaru keyed her response to his voice over the coms, and he pulled the switch for the generators on the ship – H2 O2 fusion reactors powered on. The sound of rushing water, and steam, followed by an instense buzz of electricity flowed around him. The cruiser's engines lit up blue.

"Alright. How much water does this tub have?"

"Uhm... About 400 tons of the stuff."

"Alright. Starting up the H2O processors to break half the water on the boat down into fuel."

"Roger."

"How's the ship it's self doing?"

The line was quiet for a little while longer.

"Alright, Aproximately 20% of the civilians were killed – Security details neutralized or contained most of the civilian kill squads. The ship isn't in a riot, but it's on a lock down." Wolf nodded. "We need a Life boat and enough supplies to reach Zoness in it."

Krystal commed in. "I agree. Having Wolf Onboard is... bad for bussiness."

Kusaru was quiet.

"... Katina."

"Zoness."

"... Fine. Chief says it's... alright. But if you two cause any problems down there, we're coming for you. And we WILL find you."

"We're just going to get some fighters."


	8. Blood and Wishes

Author's Note: Sorry it's taken so long to put out this chapter – it's been rewritten five times or more so far. Reason being, I needed to make peace with some past events in the canon of the Star Fox Universe, to make this story both likely, and as close to factual as can be done, when working with fiction. There is a lot of exposition in this chapter, and not much romance. Please be warned, there is some technobabble in this, but, most of the technobabble has seats in real, or fringe science. I was writing the electromagnetism bit a total of five weeks before the Sorcerer's Apprentice was coming out, so it's not a 'crossover' of any sort in that bit. It's just a coincidence.

Please enjoy.

* * *

Cryogenic Stasis would be a welcome relief, really, it would. Because then, one could merely slumber away the hours and hours one spends in, for example, life pods. Since the advent of the jump-gate system, in system travel times had fallen to mere hours – considering that the first Mother-ship class vessels to colonize the Lylat system traveled at ion propulsion speeds (A real pain to stop in zero gravity.), it would have been remarkable to reach the planet of Zoness in three days. Their escape pod was traveling at about... mach twelve or so. Basically, slower than even the junkiest freighter. Wolf and Krystal had snoozed, shared a wordless space-chow lunch, and done exercises. It was dinner time, yet more kibble was poured, powdered milk reconstituted, and the charming, high nutrient gruel was devoured. "... You know, I suddenly realize why I liked living planet side." Wolf said.

"I'd kill for a strawberry." muttered Krystal. And the chow was scoffed away in moments – the way a soldier eats. You don't taste the gruel space chow comes in (Yes, even the bubble gum flavor was rancid.) You just send it straight to the factory for your rear fire defensive (In most cases, olfactory offensive) weaponry. Which is to say...

"Space sucks."

Wolf nodded hard. "Sure, all the vids make it look like it's just a few minutes at 9/10ths light-speed, when in reality, it's mostly eat, fart, and look at stars."

"... You know Wolf, you really have a way with Words. No, really. The way you just said that now..."

"Oh bite my bushy gray tail. Let's face it, if you're not fighting someone, space is as boring as a rabbit's ass tattoo."

"... Wait, you know a rabbit with an ass tattoo?"

"... Not even remotely the point, Krystal."

"Well hell. I'm bored. You're bored. The only thing I can even remotely consider interesting to do right now would be to swap war stories, which, of course, would just make us crazy about being locked up in a life ship in zero gravity with absolutely shit to do, or screw, and you and I both know what screwing in a life pod does."

"Bruises various appendages and precious bits, skins your fur off on your knees, elbows, and parts of your tail on occasion, and leave the most rank ass stench in the universe for months."

"... I was actually more concerned about using up all the air."

"Oh."

"How...?"

"... Andrew had a woman."

"Oh GODDESS."

"It was worse."

Krystal retched.

* * *

The little life pod drifted towards the planet Zoness. The Toxic wasteland had very few habitable locations left – thankfully, they were aimed at one. Wolf stripped off his shirt with a frown, leaving in him naught but a black A-frame and black cargo jeans. He flexed his muscles a bit, looking out the window.

"Wolf.." Krystal said. He looked at her with a faint smile.

"I... Okay, I need to come clean."

"About?"

"Okay. You know how I'm a 'telepath'?"

"Yeah. I'm familiar with the theory"

"Well... Truth be told, I'm not a NATURAL telepath. I told you a bit of a lie about my time with the Cernian PD. Natural telepathy is... quite frankly, a hoax. It's something that can't be trained, or taught, or anything. That's not to say perfect memory isn't real."

"What … Where's the Perfect Memory come in?" Wolf leaned back, and looked at her with a frown.

"Okay. You know how I'm a 4th Dan in Cernian Ninja-to? I haven't practiced since I was six. And I remember every single move I was taught. Perfect memory, and muscle mimicry. I was born with a few... mental … defects, I suppose. My mind isn't the way a normal persons is. It's... better, in some ways. I have Perfect memory, I can recall in perfect, vivid detail every situation I've ever been in. I can use my muscles to follow any series of motions I've ever seen... It means, I learn fast."

"... I see. So you see something once..."

"And remember it forever. My father discovered this at six years old, and withdrew me from martial arts classes. He was scared of what I could become..."

* * *

_Krystal looked up at her father. They had never said their names – and despite her perfect memory, she could never remember hearing their names. She was so sad. "I am sorry, Kryssie... I can't let you do that any more."_

"_But poppa, why! I love it, it's so fun! We have the most fun games, and the big boys don't even hold back any more! Daddy, PLEASE!"_

"_No. And that is FINAL. I cannot let you do this at your age... You are... too... Kryssie, we cannot let you see this through. Not here. Not now. Your talents should not be used to... learn things like that."_

"_But... Whassa Tail int?"_

"_It's something we are going to show you..."_

_

* * *

_

Krystal shook off the memory. "... Dad took me out because he was scared. He was scared I would kill someone. I was merciless."

"The skill of an adult, without the tempered ability or soul of an adult. I know this well." Wolf smirked. "So, he started showing you tricks, hmm?"

"Kind of... Flash cards of happy. Of sad. Of liars and cheats and everything else... I saw more facial twitches than people know exist. I learned to suppress my own. And I trained it. People began to think I was psychic."

Wolf nodded. "So you played off that stereotype? How did you read the Apparoids?"

"I'm getting to that, hold on to your tail." She exhaled. It was like admitting you'd used drugs – hell, she still wasn't sure hadn't. Those crystals...

"Well?"

Krystal sighed. "Okay. On Sauria, there's a plant that grows a fruit – the dinosaurs eat it with neigh impunity – it emits a highly powerful Electromagnetic frequency, but, it's consumable by Lylans, with very few negative effects... except one. An allergic reaction of sorts. It's called the Spectra Flora, by most researchers."

"What do you mean, allergic reaction?"

"The reaction is basically... it makes your mind go faster. MUCH faster. It heightens your perceptions, - think a massive, no crash sugar rush - and, in rare cases, can give your body such a strong electromagnetic field, that, with the proper focusing item, it can be manipulated into a solid barrier. I could... read the Apparoids because.. well... Basically? I could see the EM fields they thought with. Reading a 'thought' is not like reading a mind. You can't read minds. You can, however, while on this... drug, I suppose... see em fields with such accuracy, that you can surmise the intentions. It's strange, honestly. It's like... reading braille, even though you really can't. Like, the first time I saw one. It's patterns were broken – shattered. I got into trouble during the Crisis because I was watching what they did off of certain em-pulses. Learning their minds, basically. All Lylans are, basically, electromagnetically, identical Brains fire off in certain ways for happy, sad, scared, all those emotions. Each one has a pattern. But on top of that, you can see other things."

"Eh?"

"Uhm... Instinct. Your mind sees those patterns. It sees the changes in their 'thoughts' – and you think them. Fleeting glimpses... Images, broken patterns. Even for Fox, and the rest of his team... It was like... seeing images of... friends and family, then happy faces... Suffice it to say, you have to be really, REALLY doped on the stuff to witness it. And you have to be trained. Think of it like seeing … ghosts, I suppose. That could be why it's called the Spectra Flora – you see ghosts when you take it – the ghosts of those dear to those around you."

"Ghosts?" Wolf scratched an ear. "This is all a little beyond me. As long as it doesn't change your personality, or endanger me, you, or anyone around you, I could give a rat's ass if you're high." He shrugged. "You know what those 'crystals' do to you, Krys. If you need some, we'll get you some. If you don't, don't worry about it."

"That's just how they work for me when I'm REALLY smoked on them. For Fox? It was different. He could fire out waves of cohesive EM pulse. He could literally blow a sharp-claw from here to Zoness. I shit you not." Wolf blinked.

"... How does that work? If all it does is allow you to see the EM frequency of an object..."

"Think of it like this... I could SEE Em lines. Fox could manipulate electromagnetism. A base element of a particle. Your mind literally begins to interpret certain motions in certain muscle groups adjusts specific electromagnetic waves, thus disrupting the frequency, and allowing you to literally, manipulate the EM fields of things around you."

"... Is it always electromagnetism?"

"No, not necessarily Falco could manipulate the weak force contained all around us. He could literally move objects with his mind – clumsily, but it worked. Peppy, however, could literally make things explode. He could rip apart the strong force contained in atoms. Slip could manipulate gravitons. He could make something heavier or lighter. We tested it. He made the water float out of a bathtub. It was... eerie." She shuddered.

"... Do you know what I could do with it?"

"... We can find out." She dug around in a pack she'd managed to grab.

"Here." She held out the small, red 'crystalline' fruit to wolf. He blinked at it. Just touching it set his fur on end. He sighed. The fruit of the plant was soft and mushy, yet it had ridges, almost like spines. He lifted it up, made a 'cheers' motion, and chomped down.

It tasted... kind of like... licking a battery. It was weird. But also strangely tasty. Made his fillings tingle. Made his eyes buzz. He could HEAR the sound of the world outside. The air moving. His eyes grew a bit dimmer, but his sense of smell and hearing sky rocketed. He could feel an almost imperceptible breeze. He looked for it, but then he realized... he couldn't see.

"Krystal." He looked towards her – but something odd was happening. He could see her veins. Trace her breaths. Smell every inch of her body... but he couldn't really 'see' her. "... This... is completely freaky. I can smell and hear you, but not see you."

"Sometimes that happens. It's sensory focusing. Your eyes still function, but, your mind can't really process the images yet. It's working on smell, hearing. It'll wear off, and you'll get used to it soon." She smiled. She looked at Wolf, who glanced at his hands.

He opened his palm. Something... in his body, he supposed. Or maybe it was deeper. An instinct? Emotion? Something told him... this was his gift. His body didn't quite blur as he watched his hand move. But it was so, so, very slow. He grasped the sensation. And he focused on it. This... eerie sense that time slowed. Krystal merely watched. The air around wolf got heavier... darker.

"Wolf? You're... what are you doing?"

Wolf didn't answer for nearly six seconds. "Huh? I'm just focusing in on the sensation... Am I talking slow?"

Krystal shook her head. "Your voice is so deep I can barely hear it, but you're talking normal speed. I think you're actually distorting time. I can see you speak just moments before I hear it – like watching a badly dubbed movie."

"Eh? Like one of those Personal G-diffuser units?"

"Somewhat. Not a gravitational effect though. I think you're actually.. well... generating anti-time particles. I mean... it's theoretically possible."

"Huh. Strange." He stopped focusing. He felt like his entire body expanded, like he got lighter, and like time snapped back into place. The buzzing sensation stayed with him, but his senses dropped by massive degrees. He looked at the clock. Four minutes.

"... Is it supposed to wear off that fast?"

"... what? It wore off?" She blinked. "Yeah. I know the clock says four minutes have passed but... I feel like I spent four HOURS in that trance."

"Huh... well, no one really understands how they work – the 'magic' they give you IS finite. You could extend the effect by eating more, but, everything has a natural 'capacity' for the EM overcharge that gives you those abilities."

"I see. So, Electromagnetism is the key to 'magic'?"

"Yes. EM can manipulate nearly any form of matter... in fact, there's tales of skilled, natural Lylan EM users – never a 'telepath' – none of them had the training I do. But there were some who had those gifts. Remember the legends of 'The First Pack'? I think it's Zonessian."

"Yeah... Actually, the Zonessian government still has the First Isle locked away. They even kept Andross out."

"... I think these flowers were transplanted to Zoness. It would explain the legends. I mean, a Wolf that could freeze a forest with a glance, after devouring the blood of the angels, correct? That was the description of the pack's leader?"

"Yeah. "The White Wolf" - Elnnar Frostrake." He shrugged. "You sure it isn't just a legend?"

"Positive. There's too many accurate descriptions of the possible powers these fruits give. With training, and a focus, even a 'telepath' or technically, electromagnetism reader, like me, can throw fire, ice, and project barriers."

"A 'focus'?"

"Yeah. Basically, it's an electromagnetic conductor."

"Wait wait – is that that stick Leon trashed when you joined Star Wolf years ago?"

"Yes... He knows more about the Spectra flower than even I do. He saw the stick, saw the flowers in my bag, and just took it. Bastard... if he hadn't thrown it down an incinerator, I would have gone after it."

"So... that stick... was the reason you could read minds like you could, even without the fruits?"

"Kind of. I used to have an amulet it was. made of petrified Spectra fruit. Cernia had a strain of the fruit, but... Anyway, The staff, and an amulet like it, were made of the stuff. When... When Andross showed up... ah heh... I was..." Krystal blushed.

"You were what?"

"I... I was Larping."

"... Larping... what the heck is that." Wolf just felt like she said something incredibly geeky in place of something that should have been incredibly dramatic. Kind of a let down.

"Er... Live... action role-playing?"

Wolf just looked at her.

"... And that's why you were wearing... a bloody loincloth?"

"Er... yes... I was kind of... in a compromised – You know what, It doesn't matter." She looked him straight in the eye. "The long and short of it is... I can get a brief glimpse of someone's mind – so slight as to be a phantom, or schizophrenic, really – as long as I wore that amulet."

"So it's not a dependency?"

"Not at all. The reaction isn't really...a euphoric one. It's like slowing things down, understanding more about the universe."

"Ah." Wolf snorted. "Suppose I can tell you a little about the place we're aimed at, then."

"Oh? That's right, You're Zonessian."

"Yup. We'll be landing in Alabaster."

"Alabaster?"

"Yeah. Podunk town. My home village, actually It's got a general store, two factories, a mine, and, last time I was here, I saw a very large statue of my Father."

"What?"

"Yeah... hnnnnn... Suppose I need to fill you in on my home village."

* * *

**Ten years ago, Alabaster, Zoness**

The O'Donnell Clan – Ten strong, a healthy home for foster children, and a loving family. Devoted mother, successful father, Mogul grandfather, and a former Actress of a Grand Mother. High school star running back for a son, and a beautiful, sassy four year old little girl. Two adopted siblings, a feral wolf (Actually the Clan's second son, age 12) And one 'added' member of the Family wolf claimed as a sibling. The Clan it's self was a mess of misfit family members who fit in very well together.

Wolf 'doshed' the 'scarf' as he called it. It drove his father, J.W. O'Donnell absolutely nuts. "Damnit, Winston, CHEW the damn steak son! It is not going to get up and walk away!"

"Then it's over cooked! MAH! The beef is dead, send it back, yer cute puppy of a – YIPE! Damnit, Cole, My tail!" he reached back and swatted at his 'simpler' brother – the feral Cole Wolf O'Donnell just yipped at him, and looked at him as if daring him. They glared at each other, and Joseph slammed his paper out loudly. The heirarch of the clan looked over his paper, Winchester moseying in beside his grand-daughter. The room went quiet.

"... Winston... Did I just hear you curse?"

"Er... ugh..."

"BARK!"

"Cole! You little sellout!"

The feral wolf laughed at the steel gray ball of fury beside him.

"WINSTON WOLF O'DONNELL!" Shiva stormed in from the kitchen. She looked at her favorite – but most rambunctious – son. "WHAT, IS WITH THE BIRD IN MY SILVERWARE DRAWER!"

"Mom! You know I don't do that kind of stuff! I stopped when I was like, seven!"

She stared him down. He looked right back at her, then caught Cole sneaking off, tail between his legs. "No you don't, you little carpet pisser! Getcher ass back here!"

"WINSTONNNNNNN!" Winchester shouted, as Wolf blew past him, chasing after the younger, feral wolf, intent to torment apparent in his eyes.

Joesph Wolf O'Donnell broke out laughing, true joy in his eyes. The two foster children came into the room, greeted by J.W.'s genuine smile. "Ronald, Mercy, why are you two always so slow to the table? Your eggs will get cold." Shiva spoke up.

"Sorry Shiva, Sorry J.W. Morning, 'Chester."

"Don't call me Chester, you damned whippersnappers!" The old coot of a wolf stroked his beard and woofed at them, eliciting a giggle from Mercy, and a look of mock fear from Ronald. Zerae stumbled in, ruffing her head fur, nothing but a T-shirt and panties on as she dove for her orange juice. J.W. Looked at her slowly. "Zerae... You in trouble again?"

"... No, no pops. It's... nothin." She muttered. Wolf blazed in, a writhing ball of fluff in his hands. "Get over here, and exonerate me, you flea bitten backscratcher!" He said, plopping his clearly laughing brother in front of Shiva.

"... Cole. You know any 'offerings' you bring me go in the silver platter. Not the Silverware."

Wolf just looked Aghast.

Cole looked cheeky, but happy. He barked, and wagged his tail.

"You... You... ARGH!" Wolf sat down, looking bitter – until he saw Zerae's face. Then he instantly sobered up.

"It's nothing Wolf."

"Was it one of those damn Lycans again?"

"No. Wolf, you know the Lycans treat us both like gold. They're even warming up to old Winchester, and he's a codgery as a Badger – no offense, Sir."

"Young lady, I am old, and damn proud of it. I've a right to be a codger, and I thank you for the complement. Now go put on some damn pants fer you get my grand-girl to get trotting around like a Trollop!"

"Old man, I know where you sleep, and I know where Shiva keeps the exlax! AND I know where you keep your scotch!"

"... You wouldn't dare..." The old coot muttered over his grits and biscuits, staring her down. She lifted a piece of overdone bacon, and snapped it in two with her teeth. The toothless old Wolf just glowered at her – and Zerae suddenly looked pale.

"YECH! BURNT!" She said, and started to scrape off her tongue, rather comedically, bringing a much needed laugh to the table. J.W. And Wolf looked at each other, each finishing one last bite of the breakfast, and walking to Zerae's sides. Shiva sighed. "Boys... I will not have you spending the last days of your springs waiting to be sprung … AGAIN. Sheriff Jebadiah won't be giving us any more hand outs this year. You've already BOTH spent yer yearly allowance for jail food!" She brandished her spoon at the pair.

"We know, ma." They said simultaneously, and a surprised Zerae was hoisted from her chair by the arms – she grabbed the last of her bacon, and snagged a piece of toast. She sighed, tail drooped and ears wilted as she was hauled into the 'den'.

"What's going on. You overslept, and you look like hell, Z." Wolf asked as he dropped her in the leather, super-plush chair.

"It's nothing, I bloody PROMISE."

"Bullshit." J.W. Spoke up. He looked directly at her. "Truth. You knew that was a condition. From both me, AND Wolf."

"Grrrr..." She growled, and crushed the bacon in her hand. "Fine! It was... it was Randy McCoy! He tried... tried to..."

"Tried to what, Z?"

Zerae buried her face in her hands – a former whore, and a well known 'woman of the night' from Ebony, the next town over – She was Wolf's personal charity case. Enlisted in high-school again, and forced, by Wolf and J.W. To live like a proper O'Donnell Lady, she was somewhat lost in the O'Donnell Creedo. She'd never had pack before, and with these crazy hound's strict adherence to it, it made them insufferable protectors, who weren't overprotective. It was like having a big brother. That just happened to be a forty time grand champion martial artists, triple billionaire, and his bloody clone.

"He tried to … get me to... do that stuff again. I swear, I didn't come on to him or – Wolf?"

She looked up as the brash, and protective young man stormed out of the room, grabbing his leather coat, and pulling out his cell phone. J.W. Just sighed. He looked at Zerae, and shrugged. "Wolf's a Wolf. Pack is everything to him... He's learned more from Cole than Cole ever learned from me."

"But, Joe, you're really going to let him just storm out and go bash some dweeb's head in?"

"Yeah. Dweeb deserved it. Go get clothed... and Z. Don't come to breakfast in your panties again. Winchester WILL have your ear for it." J.W. Flicked his left ear, the very tip nipped off.

"He ain't got no fangs."

"There's knives in every room of the house."

She paled – something to say considering her white fur-tone.

"Get dressed, and you BEST make an A+ on that history exam today, or I will have your tail for a scarf, young miss!" She yipped an affirmative, and dashed off, smiling.

* * *

Winchester stood before a snarling, young man full of testosterone and a moral compass with no gray areas. "Damnit, Old-man, Let me pass! I sure as heck ain't gonna let Randy get away with this – not a damn soul in that shithole I call a school will EVER lay another damn finger on Z! I swear it!"

"Boy... You go chasing hell... and You'll bring it back with you."

"And I'll fight it till it freezes over, and then I'll fight on the ice! Moon-Fangs don't lie, and I ain't about to let some red nosed red-fur talk down to Z!"

"So he's a red-fur, is he?"

Wolf paled. He sat down slow, and exhaled.

"Son... Ever since the town drove out the Macbeth mafia and their drug opp, this town ain't even remembered Red fur or Gray Fur. Don't go draggin it up now. If yer goin out there, remember WHY you're goin out there."

"I promised Z, I promised her she could forget all about that life."

"Some promises... can't be kept, Wolf."

Wolf stood up. "No. I refuse to accept that. I am who I am, and I keep my promises! No more... I will not be a liar. And grandpops, you can't make me into one."

".. Hmph. Boy, I've warned you. Don't screw this up." The old man stood, looking at his grandson, then nodded, and walked away. "Come back whole and clean... or don't come back at all."

Wolf nodded, and stormed towards the door, jumping on his motorcycle, revving it up, and tearing off down the driveway. Off in the distance, before he rounded the corner, he could see the Cerulean Forest – a point of pride for every wolf. And a reminder about tempers. He stopped the bike, and stared at it.

"... So that's all that remains, huh? All that's left of our great and noble hero? The great White Wolf, frozen in time and legend... all over one mutt of a girl..." he snarled. "I ain't even in love with Zerae, she's just a friend, but damn if Rin doesn't think we're shagging, and I'll be fucked if I don't bloody defend her at every damn turn of the world!" he snarled. Life had given him his lot, and he wasn't one to fight it. "Tell me, Old Man..." he addressed the crystallized trees. "Tell me what I'm supposed to do?"

"Never hesitate. Trust your Instincts." A red furred Fox stepped out of a limousine that rounded the corner. A small, red furred child with a white streak on his face looked at Wolf, happily. Well, small to Wolf. The Fox in the car was probably close to his age, but then, Foxes weren't a tall breed.

"You here to talk business with pop?"

"... You could say that." He never moved his sun-glasses. "But from your look, I'd say you have something heavy on your shoulders. Go. Your instincts will steer you right. Trust them. The Goddess gave them to us for a reason."

"... Right. Go on, old man. Pa's in the house, out in front of the factory."

The older Fox nodded, and the limo slowly crawled up the hill as Wolf sighed, and looked back at the trees. "Jackass." he muttered, popping a wheelie as he tore off down the hill, passing the school bus on the way.

"Heh. Zerae and Ronald are gonna have a blast with that history test." he muttered, and took the last curve onto the dirt highway at a high speed, slinging the last vestiges of gravel from his tires at thirty miles an hour at least. Probably killed a rat with it.

* * *

James McCloud sat down, his son Fox playing with his portable game system. "Mister O'Donnell. A Pleasure to meet you. I'm here regarding -"

"Does your child have to be in the room?" J.W. Asked. He looked at James calmly.

"... Fox. Go to the limo, please."

"Sure pops! Hey, where were we meeting mom, again?"

"Fox..."

"Oh..." The younger Foxes' ears wilted. He kept hoping... wishing his mom would come back. That she'd be there. So did his father. The dire silence settled over the room heavy and hard.

"I have something your child could do, if he was perhaps, interested in seeing one of the wonders of the Lylat System?"

"What would that be, Mister O'Donnell?"

"Please. Call me J.W. He could go with my daughter and second son down to the Crystal Glades."

"Oh, REALLY! I knew the O'Donnell family owned the land it was on, but REALLY? Is it true the First White Wolf is still down there?"

J.W. Smiled, the genuine happiness on his face apparent. "Yes. COLE! SIREN!" A feral wolf and a younger girl stormed in, the feral wolf carrying his sister on his back. Fox blinked. "... What's wrong with Cole?" he asked. Cole just cocked his head to the side. James's jaw dropped. J.W. Just smiled. "He's feral. Simpler than you or me. But in other ways, better. See his paws? He can't hold a gun, or fly a jet, or play games like you or I can... but he's faster. Stronger. And almost smarter. He can't speak, or walk like us... but he's still a very noble young Lylan."

"Oh wow. I've never met a Feral before... they don't have them on Corneria."

"No... No they don't..." J.W. Smiled, this time, it was forced and fake. "Run along you kids."

The trio dashed off, chatting and laughing – as much as they could, really.

* * *

"Joesph... Are you positive this is the right thing to do? You know how Cornerian intelligence is. You worked for them for twenty years."

"... I've informed everyone that needs to know about Andross' plans. I've done every precaution. And they still want me dead. I'm surprised they didn't send you with a gun. Levying information about the systems Prodigal Child that's negative is always a bad, bad business... especially when the very person you know is going to destroy the world you hold so dear has the only cure for your son's Ferality."

"They're going to raze your home."

"... My children will be safe. Zerae, Ronald... they're at school. Winston is off to avenge a family member's honor. Shiva is going out of town today. My daughter and feral son will be going with her. Winchester and I will die, so that our family is safe."

"And your other foster child?"

"She... She has her duty to attend. She's already in the organization."

"You really think stealing a Spectra flower from First Isle, and razing it after you preserve the 'angel's blood' flower is going to go over?"

"No. But it's a shot. I saw Andross' plans on the Cernian colony's Spectra flower. Mutations have already shown up."

"You're kidding me." James said, standing up. J.W. Threw a file on his side of the desk. The fox opened it. "... Marcy Oswald Blue, and Karl Rhinestone Blue... Katina natives? What's so im-" he flipped the page. "Krystal Ocean Blue..." He looked over the file, absorbing everything in it. "... Make sure our families are safe. Are you sure this plan is right? Shouldn't I tell Peppy about this?"

"One of the 'Star Fox' crewmen is a Traitor. I can't tell who. Peppy's record is sealed so tight it would take something more than Grand Lieutenant Pepper could give us. Admirals Oikonny, Beltzin, and Haru don't believe the intell reports. Beltino believes us... but he's been working the other angles. The recovery, not the prevention."

"... I'm only doing this for Vixy."

"Vixy's dead. Andross killed her. You really believe she'd want you to do this, James?"

"She'd want her son to grow up, healthy and strong... It disappoints me that..."

* * *

**Present day, Venom, Exact location unknown.**

"Fox... I never thought I'd see you."

"... Who are you?" The Commander of the Starfox team looked up as Leon dropped the ancient looking red furred fox in shades on the ground. Leon smirked. Falco quivered with rage, as Slippy Toad just looked at Leon with fury. "James Tiberius McCloud. Meet Fox Victor McCloud."

Fox blinked. "What..." he said hollowly.

"Looks like I found the bastard. Tiber Oxian my ass. I remember your face, you wretch. Let's hope your genes prove more valuable. You're all useless beyond genetic harvest." Leon walked from the door, and the doorway slowly began to slam down.

"Dad? DAD!" Fox shouted, grabbing James tightly.

"Foxie... my boy... glad you... survived Andross... But I'm... disappointed that... we never saw the … Polawski ruse... Thought we... had them contained."

"What do you mean?"

"O'Donnell... You remember... him?"

"Yes, of course I do, dad! How could I forget him?"

"He was... once... the fourth member... of my Team... taken off... because of secret policies on Corneria. Before we... went public with... the team... J.W. Was... a pilot for us... He was the... best of us. Better than me... or Peppy... or Phoenix."

"Phoenix?"

"Yes... shot down... in Area Six... he was... our gear-head... before Beltino..."

"... Arspace Dynamics... The father of the Arwing?" Fox was confused.

"I need... to rest... I'll tell you... everything when... I regain my strength..."

Fox sighed, looking at Falco. His father passed out from exertion. The expression on his face was mixed joy and elation. "Falco... He's alive."

"How do we know this isn't a trick?" The Skeptical falcon looked at him, beak firm and eyes narrowed – he sighed. "Look... We'll find out when he wakes up... but what could be so... Why now?"

"I don't Know, Falco. I don't know."

"Guys! Check this out! James smuggled something in!"

"What?" Fox looked down at the excitable toad. "We're under a mile of concrete – what could he possibly smuggle in?"

"A very, very unique item... Two, In fact." Slippy pulled apart James's boots. A pair of belted hyperspeed units fell down. "Accelerator belts!"

"Damn... dad always did know how to pull one over on someone..."

"Leon's gonna pay for this..." Falco muttered, cracking his knuckles. "And Wolf Too!"

"Falco... We've been in here a year almost. And I've seen nothing of Wolf in this. I refuse to believe he's involved."

"Why do you always, ALWAYS defend Wolf? First, to the Marshall Courts, Then, to Corneria at large, and Now, To US? In THIS PLACE?"

"... Because he and I go back a ways. Longer than you and me, Falco. Longer than even me and Wolf."

"... That doesn't make sense, foxie..." Slippy said.

"... My dad... and J.W. … were old pals. They were war buddies, and on top of that... it's J.W. Who told my dad who killed mom..."

"So... this means it's up to you to defend him?"

James roused a bit. "... It's up to both of us. Wolf doesn't... can't... know the truth. We can't let that happen. He can't ever know the shame this family has over what we had to do."

"What did you two do?"

"... First... I framed his father for the murder of my Wife, and planted evidence that stated he was the main backer of a separatist movement for Zoness – and there's hundreds of those. Same for Macbeth. He and I had it all planned out... a way to take down Andross before the war began."

"Wait, so... You mean... we killed his whole family... for nothing?"

"We didn't kill a single person IN his family."

"... what?" Falco and Fox said it together. Slippy just blinked, then gasped. "Wait! So you mean..."

"Winchester, Joseph, Shiva, Ronald, Zerae, Cole, Siren, and – well, I don't know what happened to Marie. But the rest are alive. Ronald is a tax lawyer on Katina. Winchester, a Senile old coot in a Cornerian nursing home. Joseph, an agent for Cornerian black ops. Shiva, living under an assumed identity doing what she always did, adult film. Cole? Guard dog for Lycan Industries. Siren? Singer in a blues club on Macbeth."

Fox snarled, and then punched his father across the face. Falco snared him tightly as he tried to attack his last living blood relative. "YOU BASTARD! YOU FUCKING BASTARD! YOU HAD TIME TO CHECK ON THOSE FUCKS, BUT NOT YOUR OWN FLESH AND GODDAMN BLOOD!"

"... Fox... you don't understand..."

"BULLSHIT! TELL ME WHY YOU FUCKER! WHY!"

"BECAUSE I HAD TO! If you knew I was alive, YOU WOULD HAVE COME AFTER ME. I couldn't... just couldn't let you... let you do that."

"You... Fuck that. I didn't need your goddamn protection, dad. I needed YOU! Peppy was a great godfather, but FUCK, Dad, I needed YOU! I needed a FOX to teach me how to be a fucking... hero... " Fox broke down, beginning to sob.

"You know I was there for you when you needed me most. Destroying Andross' psychic emitter, so that his fucking bioweapon was tied directly to his life force? That was ME. The one who guided you out of the collapsing base core? ME. The man who saved your ass time and again in any hairy fucking situation in space when Falco fucked off and Slippy was too shot up to help? ME. You haven't EVER seen a friend die. You didn't hear the SCREAM As your buddy burned up in nuclear fire."

"... Whatever. Going to my room." The mile underground bunker was actually rather spacious, for being a prison. Leon insisted they were 'honored guests'. Fox trundled back towards his room, Falco and Slippy left in stunned silence beside the larger, more wizened fox, James.

* * *

"... How did all this shit start?" Falco asked.

"Which part? Your involvement? Polawski's? Or Andross?"

"Let's start from the top."

"Well... Andross was once, a brilliant scientist. Perfect memory. Had every PHD you could get. His main focus, though, environmental studies and bio-engineering." James sighed. "But... he had competition. And he was ruthless. He destroyed anyone who got between him and his truth – utterly. And Vixy did that. Once. So Joseph started digging while I mourned. And what he found was astounding..."

"What'd he find, Mr. McCloud?" Slippy asked him.

"... Traces of very shady deals. We're talking deals that would get him executed. But he was too valuable. His Bio-engineering rendered ground warfare nearly obsolete. You could clone whole armies for the price of … a Lylan body. Seven dollars a pop, you had a man ready to wield a gun, and fight to the death... with absolutely no need to pay him – Mindless drones that marched on and on..."

He shuddered. "They only lasted two days – but for two dollars, you could break down the corpse, and make another high growth clone. Genetic diversity was the only flaw. So they started experimenting.."

"They were... hideous. He started paying pirate groups to get a hold of the 'Spectra' flower – his intent was originally benevolent. But as he studied the flower... he began to realize. He could control all of Lylat with one single machine – and a couple hundred Spectra plants – specifically, Cernian Spectra."

"... Shit... so he destroyed a whole planet... for research?"

"He did. Almost fifteen years ago... closer to twelve or thirteen, but anyway. He razed it. And this was his first 'bio-weapon'... You don't think something as grotesque as his 'Simarlian Soldier' was pure Lylan, do you? No. The Spectra flower is a foreign species, even to this system... It's Krazoan in origin. They only grow near Krazoa ruins."

"The … bio-weapon... was hideous. Furless, featherless, scaleless... it was something else. Tough like leather, but covered in quills, nearly bulletproof." He shuddered. "There was one single weapon that could kill it reliably."

"... What was it?" Falco asked.

Fox sighed. "The Model 10-Klutchinkov – Otherwise known as the TK plasma-slug thrower. Permanently banned in 3201, it was the weapon of choice for venom ground troops. It's why we were losing the war. It fired super-heated gas that was solid enough to rock a dreadnaught weight, if fired in a large enough burst." he stepped out of his doorway, and sat down at the table. "Originally designed by Maxwell Wolf Klutchinkov, Winchester O'Donnell's Great, Great, Great Great grandfather. That single model of gun has killed more people than any other weapon ever invented."

"Fox is right... But.. Venom took that technology from ODA before the war had even begun. They got it through trickery... let me tell you the story no one really knows... except for me, and the Goddess, and J.W. O'Donnell."

**Ten years ago, Alabaster, Zoness – J.W. O'Donnell's business room.**

James sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Enough about my son, J.W. What about Wolf? He left before everyone else was sent on their ways today... He won't know a thing. He'll blame you."

"No." J.W. Smiled.

"Win or lose... he'll blame the McClouds. I know my son. His creed is pack before anything else. His breed is a Wolf. And his mind... it's conditioned. Even if he falls... Winston O'Donnell... will always end up on the right side of things, eventually. He may fly crooked... but he'll be straight when it counts." J.W. Smiled. "Always has... Always will. Now. Let's go on to the plan."

"Alright. So, I take the 'team' on a sortie over Venom once Andross flips, right? IF he flips? I'm still not sure I believe all this..."

"You saw the Bio-Weapons."

"You really think they'll Exile him? Not butcher him?"

"When was the last Civilian Execution for anything other than a quadruple rape homicide in this system?"

"... point." James sighed, and rubbed his temples. "... I want peppy to know."

"He can't. He's Fox's godfather."

* * *

The clock ticked away as a silence settled over the room. Twenty minutes until the moment of truth. "James... I am positive this is the only way. I flew you out of more tight spots in Area Six than I care to count... I know we lost Phoenix.. but Damnit, Andross will pay for that."

"His daughter still survives, right?"

"She's in hiding. Same as her mother. She'll show up. Guarantee it."

"... You have this all planned out, don't you?"

"... I'm a pack creature, who took a job where the hours are long, the pay is lousy, and you spend your entire life separated from everyone you consider close."

"... Are you sure you want to do this? This is more than just a job. You'll be a true fugitive."

"Are you sure you want revenge?"

"... Not any more."

"Because of the cost?"

"Because of the cost."

"Tell me, James... do you know why Lylat will lose if it comes to open war?"

"Why's that?"

"Andross stole plasma munitions plans from the factory a month ago. He also has Klutchinkov Plans."

"... God Damnit"

"That's right. Every single one of our fighters – if he knows how to properly implement it – will be shot down in a single plasma blast. Pray gods he doesn't figure it out."

"And if he does?"

"Our only hope is that Macbeth Separatists start limiting his shipments of Platinum."

"Platinum?"

"A small, but necessary component of the firing mechanism for plasma ammunition. Plasma guns can't fire without energy, and a magnetic ring inside – preferably electromagnetic – to activate the chemical reaction responsible for the ignition of the ammunition."

"You're kidding me."

"Nope. And our only hope beyond that – is deuterium bombs and lasers."

"Beltino isn't even sure they can be made."

"You think so?" The wolf pulled up a small blaster.

"... You're kidding me."

"Pops still has it in him."

"He made one?"

"And a prototype bomb – we disguised it as a missile test... but damn does that thing annihilate... plus, you can tune the EM shields on a fighter or dreadnaught to resist their own payload of deuterium bombs and lasers fully. Friendly fire in space, never again... of course, Each sample is different, and you'd have to customize whole fleets with the same pattern of deuterium resistance... too expensive, but also, incredibly invaluable."

* * *

**Present Day, Secret Bunker, Venom**

"Wait, so dad DIDN'T Invent the smart bomb?"

"Actually, slippy... he did. The O'Donnell Theory was sound... but... Beltino refused to use it. Too brutal. Deuterium... know what it is?"

"No, not really."

"Heh... Stabilized Element 152." James smiled. "One blast from a Deuterium Laser is enough to annihilate a fighter. Well, a fighter grade Deuterium laser – Hand held ones aren't as powerful – and far, far more harmful to the user. The radiation it puts out is fucking phenomenal. It's used to ignite 'everlasting' Fusion reactors. It has a critical mass of two ounces."

Slippy gawked. "Fusion lasers?"

"More like fission – though, incomplete. Not every material is suited for nuclear reaction, after all. Jet armor? It'll blow the nose cone up, and detonate the power center, which causes the whole ship to blow. Thoooouuugghhh, Fusion lasers does sound cooler." James shook his head. "Moving on..."

* * *

**Ten years ago, Alabaster, Zoness – J.W. O'Donnell's business room.**

"Damnit... Joe, -"

"Don't be a pussy." J.W. Grabbed his guns and strapped them on. "Ten minutes. I'm clearing out. You best do so as well."

"But, Joe, What about Star Fox?"

"You kidding me? You're the fox. Remember. You don't need a ground specialist in a fighter squadron!"

And with that, J.W. Activated his accelerator belt and holographic cloaker, and the nearly light speed ghost moved out of the room, James McCloud none the wiser.

As James left the compound, he saw an interesting sight. Two Chameleons – one, approximately 50 years the younger's senior. "Daddy, why are we here?"

"Leon, as I said," the ancient lizard spoke, "We are here to meet the last of an ancient breed – the last full blooded peoples in this galaxy. J.W. O'Donnell killed his breed. He married a Red, without knowing it. Grey and Red... the last of the Purebloods just sullied his line... There are reasons we watched these lines, Young-" click. The door closed. "Let's pick up Fox."

Miles away, the old sawmill

"Wolf? KYUUUH!" Randy turned his face to the side, the monstrous haymaker putting him on his ass, his buddies reeling back as the famously 'feralest fucker on two legs' decked their boss one.

"COMERE YOU FUCKER! I'LL RIP YOUR GODDAMN DICK OFF!"

Randy scattered dust as he clawed his way up, and screamed bloody murder as his tail was snagged. He shrieked as Wolf's boot slammed square in his balls, paralyzing him with pain, and causing red fluid to ooze from his crotch. The boys scattered. Wolf kicked the younger man in the ribs so hard it broke one, rolling him over.

"FUCKING. PIECE. OF. SHIT." Wolf said, punctuating every word with one more monstrous blow on Randy's face. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU COCKSUCKERS!" he shouted, wrapping his hand around Randy's throat, and thrashing the back of his head against the floor. "Zerae is OFF. LIMITS." He snarled. "You treat her as you would ANY fucking O'Donnell or Lycan. You remember that, you Fuckhead!"

Wolf didn't even bother to listen, he continued the beating. Every blow was just serving to further enrage his temper, and then, as he was about to unfurl his hand, someone grabbed him. He panted as he quaked, and looked at what he had done.

Randy was a bloody pulp. Unconscious, with bone peeking through his face. He was destroyed. The man would never recover. Wolf stood up, shocked. He back pedaled. "Oh goddess... what..."

Winchester tutted. "... Cops are on their way. I'll cover for you... Why didn't you stop?"

"I... I was just... trusting my... instincts..."

"Wolf... who told you to - "

"I don't know, some fox!"

"... A Fox's first instinct is to run. A wolf's is to kill. Look at your hands, pup."

"... Oh goddess..." His hand were broken. The pain began to set in. Shattered beyond repair, the bones in his knuckles damn near pulverized. "wh..."

"This is what the instinct of a wolf is. Kill, or be killed... Winston. What you have done today... You've destroyed your dreams. Medical school... gunsmithing... all of it. Gone." Winchester stared at his grandson critically.

"But... Randy, oh by... Did I kill him!"

"He's going to live. Never be the same, but he'll live. Boy... You still have hope, though. You're a genius. The smartest child in our family since old Klutch." Wolf looked up at his granddad. "Wolf. Your instincts will lead you to kill. This is the Wolf way. We have that instinct before even pack. It is our people. Lions have pride. We have pack. But pack is second to survival. That is why we are so often caged. Leashed. Hated. Embrace what we are... so that you can know what we can become."

And then, the sky lit up with bombs.

Escape pod, Floating around Zoness

"... That's my secret. I destroyed a man before my family was killed. Destroyed him, completely and utterly. Because I let instinct get the better of me."

"Wolf..." Krystal looked at him as he sighed. "It wasn't -"

"Don't feed me that line. Just don't. It was my fault. I've made peace with that. I spent nearly ten years making peace with violence with more violence. But I'm done with it. How I can ever make up for the lives I've stolen, I'll never know. But I do know this. From here on... I won't be a crook. The freighter... that gave me a real taste. I can be what I am... A Wolf. And I can use it to save lives. To help people."

"Wolf..."

A shadow passed over their viewport. They both tensed. They heard the chime of 'tether attached' from the basic computer on their ride.

"Now... let's see if the universe is ready to Forgive Wolf O'Donnell. Winston died in that inferno that consumed my family. Wolf was born. So let's see how the universe stacks up, against Wolf O'Donnell, when he's fighting for the good guys."


	9. Black Wind

Wolf smiled. The black furred bear frowned. Wolf's smile was somewhat shy, as if he were saying sorry – or perhaps mocking the old bear.

"Fuck." Wolf said, as he turned to Krystal looking kinda bummed. "Leave it to the universe to throw the one remotely stupid incident of my criminal career up in my face."

"... You know, for such an epic speech..."

"I know. Krystal, Meet Ursa Saragosa. Owner of the Saragosa Space Station."

"Former owner." The bear's extraordinarily thick accent cleaved the fur from Krystal's spine, it felt like. Made her skin crawl. "Disss... Wolf man... stole it in a rigged poker game... but such are the stakes... in pirates poker." He smiled. He glared at Wolf, then laughed, opening his arms wide. "WOLF! AH! It has been too long my young pup! If I were not sure I could catch your mange, I would kiss you, you filthy mongrel!"

"Ursssaaaaa, Old man, if I wasn't sure your fat would swallow me whole, I'd hug you." They laughed, and shook hands, though, Krystal, still slightly baked on the spectra fruit, could see pain racing through both of their forms.

"Boys, play nice. Shaking each others hands THAT hard isn't exactly attractive."

"Ahhhh, and who is this lovely woman, Comerade? A wench from a bar?"

"You could say that, Comrade Saragosa, or you could say..." Krystal turned her most venomous, wilting gaze on him. "That she's the wench who could rip out your spine for funzies." Her overly excitded tone left it's self ringing hollow with the withering expression on her face.

Wolf blinked. That took some serious balls. To look at the Kingpin of the Zoness Mafia like that... He smirked. She had more balls than he did, most days.

Ursa slowly turned to Wolf. "When you find a woman, you find the one who could kill you and I both with one hand, eh, comerade? AH! I LIKES HER COMERADE!" And with that, She was swept into a bone-crushing bear-hug. She Yelped. Wolf just covered his muzzle, trying not to laugh.

"Gosa, don't kill her dude. Remember, not all of us are Saturn Born."

"Right! Right, my friend!" He set down the now disheveled (And barely clothed) blue fox down. She staggered a bit, and bristled before she settled back down, a little winded, but no worse for the wear.

* * *

Gosa had given them fresh clothing (And a not so gently requested shower. - They reeked.) "You know, Gosa..." Wolf said, running the drying cloth over his head fur, looking at the bigger, brawnier bear. "I half expected you to kill me dead. I'm alive. So this leads me to - " he was cut off by the sound of a screaming vixen, a very injured bird, and a whole plethora of anti-feather sentiment and bile. He sighed. "I told you bastards not to look in on her." He looked back at the bear. "What do you need done?"

"A smart pup you are, comerade! Come. I shall show you."

"Give me a brief once over on it, I want Krystal there for the explanation."

"I'm here." "GWAAHHHH!" "And the next dirty son of a perverted rabbit that looks at me cross ways is getting THEIR BALLS SERVED ON A PLATTER!" Krystal finally removed her combat boot from the bird's stomach, and kicked him firmly in the ribs as she stepped towards Gosa and Wolf.

"... That was a quick damn shower."

"What, I ain't some shaving lunatic. I'm a mercenary, I don't worry if my hand fur is getting long or if I'm perfectly cropped down below. Hell. I've got more important shit to do, and besides, a real woman can do that kind of stuff in three minutes flat. And that was a ten minute shower." She rolled her eyes, and shook out her hair, the normally pinned up head fur falling down her back, the military issue oversized shirt falling off a shoulder, and the camo fatigue cargo pants dropping low on one hip, her tail wagging slightly. She wasn't trying for pretty or proper, she was trying for get shit done mode.

"... I likes dis one, Wolfie. Yous should keeps her! Much betters than that Rins womans yous ran around wif."

"Who's Rin?"

"Old flame."

"Ah." Krystal let it drop, following the big bear and the stocky wolf.

* * *

The bridge of the "Black Wind" - Ursa's boat - was a shoddy sight. The Holotable barely functioned, and it was downright cramped, but, it was a bridge none the less. Rusted metal was exposed on the sides of the bridge. Krystal was a bit shocked at... how underequiped these deep space warriors that could outsmart the entire cornerian navy were. She doubted any AI could take over this flying death tub. Gosa stepped up to the holo table and kicked it so hard the boat shook. Wolf didn't even blink, even as Krystal grabbed his arm. She inwardly winced as he softly stepped away from her, his aura - what vestiges of it she could see - flaring defensively and pleading with her to remain at a distance.

"Here, my comerades, is my goal. Dere is a new buyir for dis, how to say, 'Spectra' flowers. Dey is quite rare off of Sauria, but dey exist – in specifics, dey exsista in very few places. We will be sending you to a confirmed locality – where dis is exactly, you shoulds not know. Plausible Deniability."

"First Isle."

"And The Wolfie in One! HA! So smart, this Pup! No shuddel, no weapons... we just relaunch your life-pod. Yous will be going at near jump speeds, so yous will be landing in minutes."

"Who's the buyer?"

"I thoughts that was outside of scope of your business, Star Wolf?"

"Not any more. Star Wolf is dead. Defunct. We're freelancing, but, I won't work without names this time. Sorry, Gosa. Times change. So do people."

"I... I cannot gives you this informations. They holds something dear to me."

"... Saragosa... Fine. But this is the only time."

"I sees. This is to be the big scores for my mens."

"Alright. So, go in, snatch the Spectra, hide it, fetch it later, claim inability to steer Lifepod?"

"Das is plans, yes? But nos – wes be comings ins. Pick ups on da sights, yes? We is... making its beleieves ables."

"Great. A hot drop into a military guarded base."

"Sounds fun, Wolf."

"Fun is getting drunk at a night club and starting a jello wrestling match for the ladies." Wolf shook his head. "This? This is gonna be hell."

"Good. You and I both need some exercise."

"Scuse me lady, but... nevermind, actually." Wolf sighed. She was digging a hole. Ursa's expression was resting on Wolf, and getting a bit sour.

"I thought so. What's the pay?"

"Krystal..."

"Hmm?" She looked at the handsome Steel Wolf beside her.

"... You do realize that this mission is basically the 'fee' for saving our lives, to most of these men, including Gosa, right?"

"... What?"

"Da Wolfie is rights. Wes gits yous out of the Lifepods. We gives you showers and clothses. Much mores than most pirate guilds gives 'rescues'. Yous new to Wolfie's life, yes?"

"... So basically, You're saying we do this, or we trip out of the air lock?"

Gosa went pale. Wolf just blinked at her. "... I really let the ball drop, didn't I? You don't quite understand the... pirate modus operandi."

"No, no, not really."

"Well... To a Pirate... cash is nothing. I shit you not, cash, out here, amongst the pirates, is shit paper."

"You didn'ts' takes our backups, dids you girl?"

"That's what the money was – ew."

"Yeah... Cash doesn't buy anything out here. Blood, favors, and supplies do. Andross understood that. The Cornerians don't. Why do you think Fox is always broke?"

"I... didn't realize."

"Cash is a platitude. It's a myth to these men. Some of em are Pirate born. The sons of the Dregs of Lylat. That's why I never built a cruiser. A pirate Cruiser is... nothing. Seriously. This is all Gosa has left of a huge fleet he lost for Andross."

"Wolfie is rights. Out heres, in the dead zones, there ares no patrols. No traders. Dere are lanes for dat things. Wes live off de stars – growing our own foods. Buying kibble only when necessaries. Pirates ares nots some criminal scums, girl."

"Gosa speaks true. Lylans say pirate, and they think pirate on the ocean. Not in the stars. In the stars? We buy and sell on blood and food. Some of these men, they're debts, paid in blood. We don't opperate in fighters. That's why my Squadron was unique. We did. Most pirates fly these tubs. And all of them are dead-space capable."

Wolf smirked. "This, Krystal, is our reward. Getting planet side, with no 'escorts', no... strings. This is the closest thing to a payment you'll ever see in the stars."

"Cap'n Gosa! Retrofits complete! She's ready for launch."

"I'd stay and play poker with you, Gosa, but, I ain't got much to lose."

"Nor gain, my old friend."

"Thank you for the lesson, Gosa." Krystal bowed. At least, now she knew how to deal with pirates in deep space. A valuable lesson, considering the Company she had attached herself too.

"Ah, it is nothings, pups. Wolfies, you keeps her close, yes?"

* * *

"... Why do they always assume We're... you know, knocking boots?"

"Eh?" Krystal looked at him oddly.

"Gosa assumed we were a couple couple. Don't get me wrong here, but... man, that's just a red flag out here."

"What do you mean?" She asked, truely curious. She wanted to know why, exactly, this strange world she had just visited required him to keep her at arm's length.

The lifepod lurched forward, zooming towards Zoness. "uff... basically, Women are a commodity. At least, out here." Wolf shrugged. "For most pups, women are toys, bought and sold like cattle."

"Ugh..." Krystal closed her eyes and tutted in distaste.

".. It's one of the reasons I'm getting out. Shit like that. It's... It's no way to live. Pirates are so poor, and usually, the only thing they're good at is taking care of age old equipment. They can't get out of that life. So they just dig in deeper. It's killing the society they've made."

"So... why exactly do you feel so attached to the society Wolf?"

"... They've lost everything... and it's slowly killing them."

The lifepod went silent. Space screamed by as they flew towards Zoness.

* * *

The impact was rough, but survivable. They quickly rolled out, sirens blaring from the military compound in the distance. "Shit. Warm welcome huh."

"Yeah. Let's move."

They ran, at full pace. Trees made of crystalline bark inter-spaced the island freely, while still living trees slowly rotted away under the plague-like symptoms of the crystalline forest. The sense of cold and death surrounding them was palpable, and the smell of rotted leaves and the earthy smell of feral crap was enough to remind you that civilization was underrated.

Krystal followed close behind wolf, and blinked as he went to all fours, bounding through the trees much faster than she thought he could. "Wait! Don't run so fast!"

"Give in to the beast, Krystal. This is a forest, not a city." He said. He stopped for just a moment ahead of her and nodded his head. "Trust your instincts. I'll keep you from going feral."

She sighed, and nodded, going down to all fours as well, and she blinked. It felt a lot more natural, and a whole lot faster. Not so much need to balance... her tail, a guide, not a balance. It was good. They took off again, moving much faster – fast enough to outrun a slow vehicle. Wolf suddenly began to slow, and Krystal came to rest beside him as he crouched, looking out across the field. "Shit... Look there."

"Guards... But those are Spectra plants. Look at the surrounding grass though... it's..."

"Frozen stiff. The blood of Angels... never thought I'd see it till now."

"This is going to be tough. That ice-grass will screw us over. Can't walk on it without making sounds."

"True..." Wolf began to sniff hard, and Krystal blinked. "... w-Wolf? Are you a-actually going to... sniff a way through?"

"No." he sniffed harder, and began to track his way north. Krystal followed on her hind legs this time, a little spooked at how much of a high she was still on from running like that. He quickly turned, and began to dig at the base of a frozen tree, whimpering a bit occasionally.

"Wolf? Why are you whimpering?"

"Cause this damn tree is fricking cold. Ah. Here we are."

"Eh? OH! Wait, what is that?"

"It's a spectra root."

She blinked. "How can you tell?"

"My brother was feral. I remember this kind of thing. We'd have hunting contests, one sniff of something, and we'd have to find it. So I learned to remember smells perfectly." He smirked. "Well, not like you remember things... but... practice makes perfect." He said, and grabbed at the root, and tugged. It snapped, and he pulled a little harder.

"What exactly are you going to -"

"The first wolf began a tradition when they landed. They would first bury the blood of the angels, and give homage to the nature of the fruit, and from the tree's fruit, they could all partake. Look at this tree. Know what kind it is?"

"Uhh..."

"Pecan." He said with a smirk. "So it stands to reason, there's... yes!" he smirked, pulling up a clump of dirty, nasty root, and three frozen spectra fruit within. "Here. It's old but it should still work."

He handed one of the dirty fruits to Krystal. She blinked. "... I'm supposed to eat a two thousand year old spectra fruit?"

"If you don't want to, save it. Me, though... I'm going to."

And with that, Wolf brushed off the fruit, long buried, and consumed it. "SHIT! Fetching cold as hell! Nnh..." He shook his head, and looked at Krystal – and saw a leaf floating behind her so slowly as to be taking a year to reach the next tree. He nodded. Farther out, nearly fifty yards away, time was normal. He finished his fruit and shook his head. He pocketed the second, after cleaning it. And then he took off for the field.

Krystal blinked, he had bitten into his fruit, and then he was nothing but a blur. As he got further away, she realized that the fruit was much, much more powerful on zoness. She staggered a moment, a head-rush hitting her, the smell of the fruit in her hands overpoweringly sweet. She sighed, and bit into it. And the world lit up with electric purple 'fire' – everything around her showed it's EM signal, and she gasped. She savored the bitter, cold taste of the fruit, thinking of blackberries and strawberries in dark chocolate with water fresh off of a glacier. She looked out towards wolf, and blinked.

He was nothing but a trail of one very specific emotion. Calmness. But as she stared, she realized, there were two colors in his aura... the deep Grey she came to find comfort in was calm and smooth, firmly defined. He knew himself. But within that, was a boiling, vicious red, pure, unadulterated fury, seething just below the surface. And then she heard the guns going off.

* * *

Wolf's 'time compression' or whatever it was, he hadn't bothered to name it, was strong right now, but as he ran, he realized he could pull it back, slow a smaller area more intensely, or slow a huge area by mere degrees. He left his 'influence' large as he charged in, and tackled the first man, and watched him slam on the ground so hard and his boned crushed under the impact. Wolf blinked. The man bounced, his body flipping end over end, his body accelerating the farther it got from wolf, until he watched the man slam on the ground nearly one hundred foot away, bleeding and broken. Wolf turned, the nearest man raising his rifle, the bolts of charged light swishing at him quite fast. He tightened up his 'field' and watched them slow to a crawl. He dashed for the other man.

Krystal watched. Wolf was fast, but he was slowing light to a crawl. There was no 'blue shift' around him, though as the light traveled through his aura, it definitely changed colors. The heavier he seemed, the slower the light. But that's not what shocked her. Wolf stepped behind the soldier, and thumped him. The soldier flew forward as if he were blown forward by an explosion. He tore through the gate, and slammed amongst the frozen field of spectra. Wolf dashed through the hole, guns firing at him like lightning, and he began to pick up the crystals. "Shit... wolf... Hurry... "

Wolf was letting his mind tick away the 'seconds' he felt like he was living – knowing his count was off. He turned, and dashed, running as hard as he could for the trees. And He felt things getting faster. "No... no no no!"

"WOLLLFFFF!" Krystal shouted as the beams of light began to catch up to him. She looked around, and growled, grabbing a fallen, crystalline branch. She turned, and brandished it as she had her staff, for all those years, and swung it wide, focusing hard on what she needed. "JUMP!" She shouted as a thin blue wave followed her slashing motion, quickly becoming a moving barrier of distortion.

"Shit. Krys, what the hell is that..." He said as he jumped as hard as he could his tail fur beginning to smolder as he somersaulted over the wave of energy. Just over the tree line, he saw a junky looking gold and dull red freighter flying low over the trees to the east. He heard lazer hit wall, and ducked behind a tree, panting.

"What the hell did you just DO, wolf?"

"I don't know, alright! Talk later! Run away now! To the east!"

"Right!" She dropped the branch, and ran with wolf, hauling ass though the forest towards the east.

"Commerade!" Saragosa shouted. "Hurry! Dey is cominks!"

"Get this tub out of here, Gosa!" Wolf shouted as he and Krystal leapt for the doorway – and found themselves grabbed. Wolf dropped his Crystals, and blinked. "Wh-"

"Sorry Commerade. Leon Sends his Regards! And he thanks you for yous helps!" Gosa said this without joy or pride or happiness. He said it with sadness. "I Am sorriez, Commerades."

"GOSA!" Wolf shouted, fury boiling over his 'calm' state, and he jerked. "Shit..."

"Wolf..." She said, looking around as fifty men surrounded them, holding lazers set to stun.

"Krys... Run... run now..."

"No where to go wolf..."

"Run... from... me..." he said, and she looked back at him. She stumbled, gasping. He was snarling so hard his eyes were beginning to bleed. His gums looked torn and he looked furious. She scooted back quickly.

"Can't... cont-RAGH!" Wolf felt the lasers pelt his back, and he went down, the world fading so quickly it nearly scared him for the rest of his life.

Krystal, however, had an entirely different experience.

* * *

Being hopped up on spectra is one thing. Being hopped up on the strongest spectra you've ever had and being a EM reader who's well practiced with the effects of spectra, and being stunned by a laser blast is something completely different. Almost transcendent.

Out of body experiences, are, inherently, weird as all hell. That's simply the nature of the act. You're dreaming about your body. Like you're in a video game. The sensations your body feel are psycho-projected on the canvas of your imagination, and basically, you imagine what you think is happening to you. Krystal knew it was an out of body experience. So she knew she wasn't dead. Unless she was now a ghost, but that was just wayyy too weird to think about.

So, she ended up having one of the strangest dreams of her life. And it went weirder than that.

"Wolfie..." Krystal held up the spatula. "I've made dinner for you." She shook her tail over her naked rump, her apron providing the only protection. She looked at the shirtless stud-muffin at her table as he just looked at her with those dark, hungry eyes. The dream began to take a turn for the erotic as it changed. She merfed inwardly. Why couldn't she be lucid?

"You are Lucid."

"... Wh... What?"

"You are quite lucid indeed. I apologize for interrupting your you time."

She turned. A solid black raven, muscular, tall, and with eyes the color of pearls looked at her. "Who are you?"

"Raven." He said simply. While the name was unimaginative, she had the feeling it had more of a connotation to it than she truthfully wanted to know. Or perhaps it was Raven himself, pushing for an end of the topic.

"You're a pusher. Spectra addict like me, but a thought pusher."

"Quite. It's how I can penetrate your mind right now. Your guard is down, only at this moment. It's been quite a task, sitting at the ready in a Steel tube in the middle of space, hooked up to still living spectra, and expected to give a telepathic message to the three people I was looking for." Raven smiled. "But... I am no addict. I take no rush from this... after all. The Spectra destroyed my planet, Metyaneo."

"... Why does that name sound f- Meteo?"

The raven laughed, a joyous sound. "It was harder to reach Wolf than it is you. I suppose that is good. There are things that must be explained. But not here. You will very soon meet a doctor, assigned to torment you. His name is Marcus Lazarus Ka'shar. He will be key to escaping. And you must come to Meteo. The sooner, the better. Prophet says that the gates of hell will open, within the year. That could mean tomorrow, or it could mean three hundred and sixty two days. But prophet is never wrong."

"Wait... A prophet?"

"Surely you don't think, with all you know of the spectra, that the gods are content to remain hidden beyond the walls of reality? The Krazoa angered them, and they were stricken down. How do you think your kind will fare?"

"Wh- what are you talking about?"

"It is our way. Riddles and half truths. We of the split tongue cannot lead a horse to water. But we can make it drink."

"... if you speak in half truths.. Oy. Riddles suck." She said testily. And then, It was over.

But not before the thought pusher had been kind enough to set her mind back to that recurring dream where Wolf decided to take her like a wild -

"Krystal?"

* * *

"SHIT!" She decked him as she came out of her dream. And then she blinked. She'd just punched wolf so hard he was growling on the ground.

"Oh damn... that hurt..."

"Ohmygod, Wolf! I'm so sorry! I just was having this really good dream, but then it got weird, and then it was reeeeaaaalllly good again, and I thought it was about to get weird again."

"... remind me never to stun you." He shook his head roughly. "You've been out for twelve hours. I was out for six."

Already shirtless, and sweaty (The room was a fucking oven.) Wolf went back to his common brig routine.

"Well. Least you can do is excersize. Never know when you'll need the strength you can develop behind bars." And he began to do sit ups, counting in his head. Krystal just watched.

"Gonna do some with me, or are you just gonna stan-" she got up. She put her foot on his chest, and looked down at him. "Krys?"

"... Wolf. You woke me up. We're alone. In a very very hot room. And you really, really don't want to know what kind of dream you just woke me up out of. So. If you insist of flexing your … your... de... your abs, would you kindly stop? Before... Ah..."

"Shut up and get down here already."

"Wolf, if we do this..."

"You can either do these with me, or participate in a completely different kind of exercise, because I am not going to sit here with my thumb up my ass waiting on the firing squad."

"... If... if firing squads are involved..." She said as she put her feet on either side of Wolf's hips, and pulled him up to a standing position. She looked at him deep. Those eyes – off color as they were, they penetrated down deeper into her than she could ever look into him. "Just... Wolf, I'm a virgin."

Wolf didn't even twitch. "Then tell me this. Do you trust me?"

"Yes. With my life."

"Will you trust me even when you think I'm wrong?"

"Yes." The questions were making her weak in the knees.

"Do you promise that until WE decide, as two people, that we're done, I'll be the only one?"

"Yes." She said. She had no doubt in her mind. Wolf was the man she had dreamed up as a teenager, the man she had wanted since she was hitting her first heat. Wolf was Wolf. And she wasn't sure, but she thought he was swearing to be her wolf.

"Then I swear it to. Love me or don't. Hate me or don't. Trouble, prosperity, anything that comes our way. I'll be there. I swear on my creed, breed, and name." Wolf looked so intense that moment, it was liable to melt pig iron.

"Oh Wolf..." She said, the line filled with cheesy emotion. She wrapped her arms around him, and held him tight. "That's... What do you... mean by all that?" Fear set in rather quickly as she thought about his words.

"... If I tell you, tell me you won't stop."

"I won't."

He wrapped his arms around her, finally feeling close to something, for the first time in his life since the event in his childhood. Since he ruined a man, since he ruined his future, since his life was stolen from him to leave him dead inside. And now, he felt alive. Like he had pack, once again. Real pack. True, loving Pack. "It's... an old wolf promise. It's called the 'swear of shame.' Shaming a wolf is... very much a part of our culture. Wolves don't allow another wolf to take it's life because... we are required to live with our shame. Breaking a promise like this... is akin to ending my life." He said this heavily. "In the old days, your name was stripped, and you were stripped from your 'breed records' – how the old wolves of the Zoness Imperials maintained a list of those born into 'pure blood' families." Wolf smiled at her. "It means, Krystal... That I'm willing to go to any lengths to keep a promise to you."

"And... what do you... promise?" She looked up at him.

"I promise to protect you. To keep you safe, whatever the cost to me, or my family. To make sure that you, Krystal Fox, are safe. And..." Wolf looked down at her, the words catching in his throat.

Krystal heard the door. She willed Wolf to speak faster.

"I promise to L-"

"Krystal Ocean Blue."

Krystal turned in Wolf's grip so violently he gasped. Krystal shrieked in terror.

* * *

Venom

"... I'm in. Laundry." Falco tossed the paper 'chit' (On toilet paper, no less.) into the growing pile.

James frowned. Falco was taking a big risk. Laundry was the best chore in the stack. It was the easiest. James grinned wickedly. "I'll see your laundry, and raise you a head."

Head duty, that meant the old fox either had a great hand, or he was bluffing. Throwing in the worst chore to do caused Slippy to gasp. He wasn't playing this hand, having lost all of his 'get out of chore free' chits last hand to Fox's well played bluff of two twos.

Fox snickered. "All in."

They both looked at fox. "Son... You sure you should be bluffing, this hand I have is a little better than the lowest pair in the game."

"Oh I'm sure, pop." Fox looked at his full house. No diamonds, but... it was a good hand. He was confident he could win. And he wanted to show it. Falco pushed all his chits in, too. "Check." The bird said, looking as his low clubs straight flush.

"Check." The wizened old fox said, pushing forward his chits. "This will make or break us all boys. Eighty Chits in the pot... so who's going chore-less for a while?"

Fox slammed down his full house. "Read em and weep boys, FULL HOUSE IN THE HOUSE!" He reached for the chits.

"Not so fast, Star Fox!" Falco said in his best imitation Wolf voice. "Straight club flush, IN YO FACE! Ha! No more flushing duty for me!" The defeated fox slammed his head dejectedly on the table. Falco reached for his pile, but his hand was caught by James. "Don't be so hasty, Falco. You haven't seen my hand yet."

"Well, don't keep us waiting! Show us how badly you lost!"

"Well, I hate to say it, but, my highest card happens to be this Ace of Diamonds."

"Is that All, old man? An ace won't beat a Straight Flush!"

"Oh? But if I throw down this bejeweled King and his bride... That wouldn't bother you?"

"... not at all, ya old fart! Ain't no way you have the son of that old rich couple."

"Ah. But, see, I do. And I have the one card you don't want to see in this deck too. Knight of Diamonds to top it off."

"... no w... WHAT! YOU CHEATED! HOW IN THE-"

"Now now boys. I don't cheat. It's alllll instinct." He smiled wickedly, pocketing his chore chits with a grin as the three boys groaned. "Oh, But you never know when I'm going to spend these, do you?"

Bweeeeeeee – The main door came open. James made a motion – no one moved as Leon came in, dragging in a few familiar faces. "Wretches – You really think I would PAY?"

"Didn't know you were the one hosting that damn rigged race, you bastard – YOU OWE ME A SHIP!" Katt Monroe gnashed her teeth at the Chameleon. "I Will WEAR YOUR SKIN AS A BELT you fucking piece of criminal TRASH! I swear, when WOLF HEARS ABOUT YOUR CHEATING!"

"Well, isn't that a shame. Wolf's dead, you little pussy." Leon Bitch slapped her so hard her head clonked against the ground, knocking her cold. Falco jerked up to go to her, and got a low power laser blast in the chest, sending him skidding, with their card table, across the deck of the hideous cement bunker. "Heyyyy!" Fox shouted. Leon turned his laser to the offended canine. Fox lifted up his hands with a frown. "Just aggravated you trashed the table is all."

"You better be. Filth. Get those other two in here!"

"Some trophy celebra- Oxian!" A tan furred Fennec fox stumbled in, looking at James in shock. "Tiber!"

"Fara." He said with a nod and a smile. "Meet my son, Fox McCloud."

"Get in there you fucking WHORE!" Leon kicked her in the rear, sending her tripping over Katt Monroe, and right into the slightly smitten Fox.

"Ooph!"

"Ack!" Fox laid there, looking up at the handcuffed woman. "Hi." He said.

"Hi."

"Oh how fucking Sweet. PTOO! Get in here, lucky number one."

"LET ME GO! GET YER FILTHY SCALEY HANDS OFF OF ME LIZARD BREATH! LEMME GOOOOOOO!" A pink colored poison arrow frog was tossed into the room, and the bindings on her wrist vanished, armed men collecting the other bindings.

"Well, Gents..."

"Wait." James said, looking at Polawski. Leon blinked, and looked back at him.

"What's all this for?" James said it with a shrug.

"Hmm? Oh. I'm using your genetic material in cloning experiments started with Andross' Research."

"Similarians?" James stood up in shock.

"No. The Similarian was an aberration caused by using Cernian Spectra. The Saurian result was no better. With a greater Genetic Diversity pool, and a much more sizable sample of Zonessian Spectra, I have a much better feeling about this batch." Leon grinned wickedly. "And besides. The two best pilots in the Lylat system, the only ones capable of stopping me, are locked in here. Anyone else with talent is either being killed, or rounded up as we speak."

"So. You're going to clone us, and make super soldiers?"

"No. no no noooo... Cloning you? That's Ameture. I am doing something muccchhhh more elegant. Far more elegant than anything our friend Andross tried to do. You seen, being born schizophrenic has given me... Shall we say... a unique perspective. It allows me to see beyond that which the normal moral issues most would have with developing a hybrid species capable of natural em manipulation. You are all the perfect physical specimens, able to handle fully unlocked Arwing systems. Which means... You will all be the basis of my … evolutionary revolution."

"What?"

"Observe. This … is the result of the Spectra Serum on a living Lylan subject."

Ursa Saragosa was rolled into the room. Two pistols were thrown down to the floor. "You see, I only need your genetic materials – I'm certain I'll be able to sort out the details after you see what the Zoness Serum does to a Lylan. Oh, and try not to die too close together. I have a lovely young woman who needs my... hehehe... rapt... attention.." The last words were said with such a heavily venomous tone, it could have melted the flesh from Jame's bones. Then Leon jabbed a needle into Ursa's neck. And Quickly left the room. "Seal it. Full lock down, no one within two hundred yards of this place, until we've cleared it out again."

Ursa Saragosa screamed in agony as the crew began to revive themselves and watch in horror as the massive Bear began to change... dramatically, and irrevocably.

* * *

Zoness

"KYAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Wolf pulled her around, and looked at the man in a pale white suit, black shades on his face, and a black lab-coat on. "Nomoretests, Nomoretests, nomorenonono" he could hear Krystal saying. Wolf hid her protectively.

"Winston Wolf O'Donnell. I remember you. Peppy Hare is on his way. How does the eye function?"

"... Perfectly. Why?"

"Because. I made it. I wanted to see the mother of Spectra Technology and the first functional Child of Spectra Technology first hand." He looked a little worried about Krystal, but kept his mouth quiet - perhaps this was some unknown side effect of prolonged spectra exposure he didn't know of? It would Certainly explain why the Bio-lab's crowning achievement's affections lay with that weird little girl...

"What do you mean?"

"He means, Wolf..." Peppy said, as he looked into the cell. "That your girlfriend there, is not only a national treasure, she is the only natural EM user alive in the Lylat system currently. Leon killed the rest."

"Natur- She has to get stoned on Spectra to even use her gifts."

"She can do it without spectra. She just doesn't know how. And Now, I know her real name."

The quaking, blue fox behind wolf was crying. Hard.

"What the HELL did you fuckers do to her?"

"Not us. The Cernian Government. Krystal, It's okay."

"P-... Peppy?" She peeked out at him, and quickly dived back.

"Get the tester to go away. No more tests. EVER."

"Te... Tester?" The doctor said it with a raised eyebrow. "... Excuse me, but, I am no tester. I am Doctor Marcus Lazarus Ka'shar. And I in no way will EVER perform a... godawful experiment like what those Cernian bastards did to you, Krystal... Hell, my entire doctorate was devoted to ways to test your powers WITHOUT such invasive, torturous procedures! - Well, my second doctorate. My first was in physics... Third in Mechanical engineering..." He shook his head, noticing he was rambling. They didn't need to know about his five doctorates. The bobcat looked into the cell, and then bowed. And then, as if to please his own ego, thought, 'Physics, medicine (Minoring in Bio-sciences.), Mechanical Engineering, Aero-Astral engineering, Artificial Intelligence - and I really should go back and finish that computer programming PH.D. I was working on...' His thought was interrupted by Krystal speaking up.

"... shades... Take em off." She said, looking at him from Wolf's shadow.

He pulled off his shades with a smile. He looked right at her, both of his eyes a brilliant white, with two black pupils. "I know. The Irises are a bit -"

"Cernian too, Huh?"

He blinked.

"... Born there, yes."

"You smart? Like, really, really smart?"

"... IQ of Four hundred with a Perfect memory. Why?"

"... You escaped them. The testers." She shuddered. "Daddy hid me. But they killed him. Momma hid me, but they killed her. Ripped her to pieces in front of me, to see if I'd kill them. Killed a bunch of them with my hands... Didn't cry till they started the tests..." She planted her claws in Wolf's back. He didn't flinch. "Ocean Blue, turned red and hurt... Strange colors on the doctors. Lylans. Let me lose when I was too old to play with any more. Played in my mind. Left tracks and fingers and places to touch. Tools are gone now, can't touch them any more. Tried to live normal. Couldn't. Tools make it hard, no thought, just pain. Andross came. Killed them all. Took the comfort. Killed his men. Stole daddy's old freighter. Ran to comfort..." She said, the voice delivering it was cold and heartless.

"... I... What?"

"You escaped. You never... had to feel... them poking around inside you. Defiling parts of you you can't fathom... You escaped. Your parents ran... because you're a freak. Like me. Different color, different mind. Broken somehow, deep inside. Black and white... What are you?"

"... Mao Bobcat. They said I was born albino, but in reverse."

"Switched around. Broken deep down. Genes, genetics, poked and prodded, twisted up and pulled out my soul. You escaped... You made it out. Not like... not like they tried to get me out before they killed my daddy when he hid me. When they hid my momma and then showed her to me to show me what would happen if I didn't help them."

"Peppy... Ka'Shar... you two should leave."

"Wo-" Peppy looked like something in his heart was snapping in half from the sight he was seeing - This woman he loved like a daughter was hurting this badly... all over seeing Ka'Shar's labcoat? Ka'Shar was furious by now, realizing the depths of just how depraved Maelice must have been. She always had a rather... forceful presence around him, resulting in more than his fair personal consumption of their harvested spectra supply.

"NOW!" His voice brokered no disagreement.

She sobbed behind him, and he turned. Wolf's arms wrapped around her.

* * *

Fury wracked Ka'Shar's form as he stomped out of the prison block. "Peppy... What the FUCK is going on here? The scream when she saw me, everything in there - That was COMPLETELY backwards from how I thought it would be!"

"I don't know, Marcus. The Central Lab better have some damn answers though. Krystal didn't cry like that when I picked her up after she and Fox split up. There is something that smells like shit right now."

"... I quit. Well, I quit the position in this base I have at least."

"Good. I'm offcially hiring you on retainer as a mercenary liason, who's about to help me find out just what in the FUCK is going on in this base." Peppy began stepped, quickly, towards the heart of the underground base as Marcus stripped off patches and things from his clothing.

* * *

Marcus stepped into the lab, his lab coat torn off, his shades crushed in his grip.

"Marcu-"

"Get them off. Now. EVERYONE. The lab-coats. GET THEM OFF! BURN THEM!"

"What's going on here, Ka'Sh-"

"You heard me." Peppy stepped in.

"Overseer Nathans?"

"Yes?"

"What is Project Crimson?" - They had stopped at Peppy's office on the way, and now knew what kind of sick, twisted shit had gone on under their noses, on Cernia.

Nathans went for his gun, but peppy simply pulled his pistol out, and blew his brains all over the nearest doctor. "Right. Who else here was on Cernia? You do realize, that I've already locked this facility down. You won't be found. Ever. Project Crimson. I want the files. Now."

"Admiral Hare..." A goat stepped in from the other room - He had known, ever since Peppy had been assigned to dig up old ghosts, this one would bite him in the ass. But he knew, He knew he was justified. For what happened to his darling little Sandra...

"Admiral Haru. Weren't you the one who lost the Cernian Colony?"

"... You don't know what kind of Ghosts you're digging up."

"I don't care. I just watched the strongest young woman I know break down into a schizophrenic mess by looking at just one of the lab coats your 'Spectra Research Outpost' scientists wear."

"Marcus? You disobeyed my Direct Order, didn't you?"

"You bastard." Marcus said with venom in his voice.

Haru shot Marcus, the Mao bobcat spinning, and hitting the ground, growling in pain. Peppy lifted his gun and fired, the five shots left in his dress revolver going wide, but sending the goat for cover.

"Admiral Hare! This is Mutiny!"

"You Butchered people, and for what?"

"To determine the risk such people provided to the Lylat System! Andross, in his wisdom, knew to save us all, he had to be the villain!"

"YOU SIGNED OFF ON HIS MADNESS!"

"I'm the one who gave him his orders."

Peppy quaked. Rage flooded him. "You... son... of... a... BITCH!" Peppy grabbed his gun, having already reloaded it.

"YOU KILLED JAMES! PHEONIX! O'DONNELL! YOU SLAUGHTERED INNOCENT PEOPLE, FOR WHAT?"

"I DID IT FOR LYLAT, YOU STUPID BREEDER!" Haru stood up, grabbing a nearby scientist, and putting his gun to her head. He watched Peppy stand up slowly.

"Andross... was your doing?"

"Andross was his own doing. He's the one who stole the Crimson files. He's the one who took the research we had, and turned it against us. We told him to prevent that tragedy. We told him to take what we had learned, and use it to make life better for all Lylat. But he TOOK it! He STOLE ALL MY HARD WORK! I WILL NOT BE MADE A FOOL OF AGAIN! THAT BLUE VIXEN WILL DIE!"

"You... Won't hurt... anyone... else." Marcus pulled out a hold out blaster, and plastered Haru's brains on the ceiling.

* * *

Venom

"Lady?" Fox said looking at the Fennec beside him. "Why exactly are you holding me back from getting that gun?"

"Huh?" She said, watching Ursa thrash.

"Fox... Get everyone and run. NOW. GET GONE!"

James dived for the two guns, picking them up and running, as blood began to ooze from every orifice in Ursa's body. The bear screamed and roared in agony as the twenty somethings backed away slowly, too horrified to look away and run. "RUN! NOW! GET - "

Ursa broke free of his restraints, his entire body rippling as his skin literally began to peel away, bones penetrating his flesh, and moving about. His skin fell off, organs piling out across the floor. Slippy vomited. Fox looked away. Falco fainted. Fara Shrieked in terror. Amanda began to sob. Katt picked up Falco. "LET'S MOVE! LET'S GO BOYS AND GIRLS! INTO THAT ROOM!" She shouted, moving the train of people away from the horrific sight as what was left of Ursa Saragosa put his paws in his intestines, rupturing the meat and spilling bile across the floor, his muscles beginning to sloth off as sick, green liquid began to ooze from his joints, muscles swelling beneath his bones, cracking them.

James slammed the door behind them, panting, vomit swelling in his throat. "What the FUCK was that?"

"I...I don't... oh god..." Slippy puked again, Amanda sitting down beside him, patting his back.

The sounds outside the room stopped.

"Daddy..." It said, it's voice so low that it literally shook the cement walls. "The toys are gone..."

Leon's voice came over the speakers. "But child, you saw where the toys went. The maids will clean up. You can make a mess." His voice was sickly father-like. They heard the sound of solid bone clapping together. "YAY DADDYYYYY!"

James backed away from the door, and aimed his blaster at it. Fox took one from his dad, and aimed as well. Slippy roused himself from his stupor. "That... bastard!" He said. Everyone in the room except for Fox and James looked at Slippy in shock.

The door caved in quickly, and the most hideous creature James had ever seen followed the falling door, roaring in agony and rage. It wasn't a person any more. From a plate in it's stomach, obviously the now Deceased Ursa's spine, nerves and tendrils of flesh dragged the remains of the turned-inside-out bear around. Bones covered it's form, the thin, lanky creature with bone-like 'wings' poking from it's back, each wing having a membrane of flowing blood that dripped to the floor, standing patiently, looking at it's toys as it continued changing. Horns erupted from it's head, it's face reminiscent of the skull of a bear.

"Daddy. Can I rape the corpses, or do I have to rape them to death first?"

"Kill them how you please. Rape is merely one tool in your bag of tricks. Try pulling out the orange one's skull."

"But... But... Daddy, TOO MANY ORANGE ONES!" It roared, and got low as the spinal cord of Ursa Saragosa dropped to the ground. Fox and James began to fire as fast as they could. It roared and stumbled back, it's bone armor flashing with power every time a blaster bolt hit it, but it still stumbled.

"OW DADDY! IT HURTS!"

"Channel that pain. Send it back to them, my boy!"

It nodded, and stood tall, a hail of light hammering it's form, and it screamed. A blast of light tore from it's mouth, screaming through the door as heat began to sear the concrete around them. The men and women inside squeezed up to the sides of the room, avoiding the blast.

"Blasters won't work." James said. Fox nodded. "Guess it's claws and paws then!" They both rushed it, punching ti in the stomach. It stumbled again, but this time, it looked PISSED. Two backhands later, they lay crumpled on the ground, bones aching from the force of the backhanded smashes.

"No way." Falco said, stepping into the hall of their prison, beginning to fight with the creature. It was fast, but Falco was faster. He stepped to the left as it swung hard, aiming to fold him in two from the top down in a lasting fashion. He slammed it in the knee with a stiff, swift kick, and Fara charged out, running to flank it.

"Come on you fat hunk of -WHOA!" She slipped on the blood flowing from it's 'wings', slamming against the opposing wall, and groaned as she rolled up slowly, looking at the devil-face of the monster. She screamed and Falco slammed it with a high, spinning kick, his talons poking through his combat boots. It screamed, and spun, flinging him towards the wall. He slammed, back first, against it, blood flying from his beak as he bounced off and landed on his side, curled into a fetal position. The creature ran for him, but felt a massive blow crumple it's leg.

Amanda Frog had just slammed it in the knee with a metal pipe left over from it's explosive exhalation earlier. It just slammed her with it's horns, sending her skidding across the ground. She groaned as the world stopped spinning, and she looked up, seeing Katt Monroe keeping it's attention. Slippy was nowhere to be seen yet.

"Come on you freak! Hit me!" Balanced on her toes, claws gripping the ground, she fought like a prize winning pugilist, hitting only the softer green flesh exposed by it's motions. It roared in agony, and finally, it decided it was done with this toy.

As Fox stumbled to his feet, and Falco joined him, a flying pink ball of fur clobbered them both, the three of them lying on the ground in agony.

It began to stomp towards them, hissing low, the sound shattering lights around the room.

"Hey! Boney!" The sound of a shrill voiced frog cut through the dark. A belt around his waist with a button on it, and another around his left hand. "Pick on someone in your own weight division!"

"Daddy... it sounds funny."

"That it does. Kill it."

It rushed the toad. But Slippy held his ground. It came closer and closer, it's arm raising to bash slippy with all it's might. The swing came fast, but the frog planted his feet, and shot his right hand out, stopping the blow cold, and causing the monster to recoil from it's sudden impact with the 'immovable force' of Samuel Toad. "Come on. That all you got?"

Former linebacker, and heavyweight high-school wrestling champion Samuel Toad wasn't just smart. Sure, he wasn't a hot shot in the sky... but you didn't put together jet planes in space on brains alone. You had strength.

The beast swung again, putting all it's weight into the blow. Slippy moved with the motion. He stepped into it, grabbed the beast's arm, and swung, as hard as he could, shattering the beast's back plate on the ground, and breaking off it's wings. It screamed in agony. "GET UP!" he screamed. His shrill voice belied him, as always.

The beast rolled, and began to walk on his hands, claws on it's feet bared. It slashed at the toad again and again, but Slippy just weaved around them, delivering short, jabbing punches to the shattered and cracked bones on it's back. He didn't give up much ground at all, and then he delivered a world rocking, chambered stomping kick to the beasts face, sending it skidding back as bones fell off of it's back.

Slippy dashed backwards a few steps. He turned around. "There's your weakness, bitch!" he said, and hit his belt, gravity distorting around him because of the hyper-speed acceleration belt. They were only good once, but this seemed like a good enough time. As he dashed forward, his form a blue blur, and activated the belt on his hand. It red shifted as he delivered his most devastatingly powerful left handed haymaker ever.

The creature seemed to ripple as it's bones shattered with the blow, every bone on it's body rocking apart. But then, it tore it's self apart, it's torso ripped in half by the massive light-speed punch. Slippy dropped the belt... and then promptly vomited again, before falling backwards in a heap of blood, exhaustion, and heroism.

* * *

Zoness

Wolf stayed curled up behind her throughout the night. They heard gunfire all over the facility. They finally, after nearly a full day, heard the heavy clomping of combat boots. Wolf looked up, and blinked.

"Wolf. Krystal."

"Ka'shar." Krystal peeked at him, and blinked. He didn't at all look like the fit scientist from earlier. He was shot twice, and had his clothes all a mess. He tapped a few buttons. "Admiral Peppy will see you now. We apologize for the poor accommodations. It seems a hold out group of Andross supporters decided to hole up within our research organization. Miss Blue."

"I'm not miss blue."

"Fine. Krystal then. Come on then you two." Ka'Shar hoisted the mini-gun over his shoulder effortlessly. Wolf smirked as he stood up, helping the still exhausted Krystal up beside him. She nodded, and shook her head, walking behind Ka'shar. The halls were long, and mostly secure. They still saw a few breach teams dashing about the complex. "Elenar." the Mao said to a solid white wolf. The Wolf merely nodded. "Keep moving pup." he said as Wolf stepped passed him, blinking in shock. He jerked his thumb back at it – but was answered quite dismissively.

"Yes, It's him. No, he does not do autographs, no, he is not immortal, and yes, he was once dead. Spectra." Wolf just gawked.

"Turns out, a few electromagnetic effects can be reversed. Including a flash absolute zero burst. Very little physical harm came to him during his long sleep. And he's a total douche. You should meet his wife though. Real cutie. Well, we think Mutt is his wife." And with that, the Mao hit a few buttons on a keypad, leaving the dumbfounded Wolf and the still neigh-comatose Krystal to stare at an old hare with his beer gut hanging out of an A-frame, command jacket and flip-top tossed into chairs in the research gallery. He shouted orders to scientists, soldiers, and androids alike.

"God dammit, Marines, I told you to CHECK YOUR FIRE! We need as much of this data un-fried as we can get! I want to know everything Haru had this damn place working on. I will be DAMNED If we lose the Lylat war here."

"War, Peppy?"

"Yes, Wolf. Andross' war is still raging. But these days, it's all politics and science. I brought you in here because I - Damnit, GET AGENT BLACK ON THE LINE, COPORAL! AND FIND ME AGENT RED. NOW! Because I need you to meet someone who's going with you. Doctor Master Sargent Marcus Lazarus Ka'Shar, of 'Project Ruby', step up."

"Sir."

"Wolf, Krystal. I'm about to read you both into the most secret project ever devised by an admiral of the Lylat Systems Government. You two ready?"

"Do we have a choice?" Krystal said, the hubbub of a 'war-zone' slowly pushing her out of her scarred memories.

"No, considering Project Ruby is my way of finding out everything that Joseph O'Donnell had planned when he flew the coop."

"I didn't fly the Coop, old man." A black and gray wolf said, his hat lifting up off his head. "Corporal, don't bother calling 'Agent Black' – He's here. What do you need from LISA, Admiral?"

"Son of a Bi-" Wolf started, but was cut off.

"STOP EVERYTHING." Peppy shouted. The whole room stopped. "Lieutenant Honeypaw. Take over the operations here. Clear out every Andross supporter IN THIS COMPLEX. You bring any evidence of Lylan Experimentation to me, Wolf's team, and Agent black here. We'll be in the command lounge." Peppy said, motioning for them to come with, directly across the hall, into a retrofitted 'quickie room' as wolf called them – It was actually a storage closet, with a kitchenette set and a table. This would be Peppy's home away from bunk.

* * *

Peppy slammed the door. "... Wolf, go ahead."

"... WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?"

"... Which one of us should answer that, Paprika?"

"... Son of a bitch, it really is you, Joe. Goddess damned bullshit. What the hell IS going on here? Lisa contracts me to replace Wolf's eye, and this pup has tried to shoot my ass down a time or two, and then they tell me to cut him lose on ZONESS, where he proceeded to kill a kid, and then it's covered up?"

"Leon Polawski knows more about the Andross operation's extent that we think even Andross did. Hell, we're not sure if this all isn't Powell's plan. Oh, that's Powell Polawski. Leon's father."

"And what the hell does that mean?"

"HEY!" Wolf shouted. "I think that's not even a good discussion right now. My father is ALIVE. And I'm about ready to fix that with a rather permanent solution." The gray wolf snarled hard. "What kind of god-fearing furre doesn't die when they're killed?"

"The kind that works for Lisa." Joe smiled. Wolf blinked. "Wait a minute... Agent black... mister black... YOU WERE MY GODDAMNED LISA CONTACT!"

"Yes."

"You... you fucking bastard."

"I am NOT your father, pup. My son would have NEVER let some fox tell him to -" and J.W. Put on his best whiny voice for this one - "Trust your instincts, Wolfie! They make all the pain and suffering go away!- PTEH! What the fuck kind of piece of shit wolf actually listens to that shit? Did me teaching you Moon-Claw not have any damn effect on you? Did letting you stand up for Zerae teach you nothing? We hold our instincts IN CHECK, Because if not, we're godless damned SAVAGES. It's part of being a WOLF. It is part of being an O'DONNELL. Stand up for what's RIGHT, not what is so called JUSTICE in Lylat!"

"You're right, You're not my father, because my father wouldn't be ASHAMED OF HIS SON, doing the things he was taught. I have lived with the shame I have over Randy, and you're going to throw it up in my face?"

"It's ten years coming, pup! Don't you even act like I still can't put yer sorry ass over my knee, boy! I will BUST YOUR ASS so hard your fake eye pops out! You better be glad I got that boy fixed up good as new once you were off world. Because otherwise, I would rip out your damn tail and BEAT YOU WITH IT!"

Krystal, Peppy, and Ka'Shar just watched the two wolves square off and measure penis length. Peppy actually started popping popcorn. "Hey. Give me some of that." Ka'shar said. "Me too, I'm RAVENOUS." Krystal chimed in.

"Old man, Tell me, Is anyone really even dead here? You didn't die, and I'll bet no one else died, either!"

"You think I'd let the government steal my goddamn Family? The one I worked for? The one I BUILT! MY HEART AND SOUL! Oh you're damn stupid."

"Yeah? So why didn't you ever tell me the others were alive? I found mom watching a goddamn PORNO!"

"That didn't make you think, boy?"

"Of course it did! It ripped me apart, old man. You think I WANTED to believe my family was dead? And even if I had found them, they would HATE ME for who I was!"

"Believe it or not pup, EVERY DAMN ONE OF THEM wanted you back. THEY ALL LIKED YOU BETTER'N ME, PUP!"

"WELL GOOD! OLD FUCK, YOU LET US THINK WE WERE ALL DEAD!"

"I swear to the MOON, Pup, I will bust yer ass you take that tone with me one more time!"

"Yeah? Well, let's see who's alpha here, you damned beta."

"... You sonofa-" And the fight was on.

Krystal Yipped as she hopped up on the boxes nearby, Ka'shar and Peppy following suit as the two wolves began scuffling on the ground like a pair of kids fighting over a ball.

* * *

Wolf and his father fought, his claws sheathed, just like his fathers – but they weren't play fighting in any form. Wolf reared back as he got on top, and swung as hard as he could, smashing Joe's face to the side. He growled as Joe punched him, hard in the kidney, rolling over, and pushing Wolf up to the wall, grabbing him in an arm bar. Wolf barked as he broke the hold, and bull rushed his father into the opposite wall, punching him high in the ribs. Joe brought his hands down in a massive arc, slamming his son in the spine, but Wolf didn't relent. He lifted his father up, and began to deliver punishing elbows into his ribs, the older wolf returning blows to Wolf's hips and sides.

The growling, tangled ball of fur and fury stayed at the other end of the room. And the microwave dinged. Peppy reached over, but blinked – Krystal already had the bag, munching furiously. "Oh. Well. Guess you and me can split a bag."

"Shh! I can't hear em cussing!" Ka'shar was too focused on the fight to pay attention to the old rabbit. Peppy just sighed and grabbed some of Krystal's popcorn, eliciting a growl from the staved fox.

"Idiot pup bitch!"

"Old fuckin foggey!"

They broke apart, going to fisticuffs, popping each other with short, furious combination punches as they bobbed and weaved. "Still boxing Southpaw, eh boy?"

"And you still weave port!" A massive left hook rocked Joe's world pretty hard, but he spun low, and slammed his shoulder into Winston's gut, pushing him back up against the wall, staining his muzzle fur red below his lips. Wolf kneed his father in the chest, and then felt his pops grab his legs. He backed into the wall, keeping his pops from slamming him down, and delivered two punishing punches to Joe's ribs, and kicked his knee, pushing him back. As his pa stumbled back, He swung hard, smashing Joe in the eye, and then getting his world rocked by a punishing right uppercut, stumbling back into the wall. He Pushed off, swinging again, hitting his pop square in the chest.

The dog fight was intense, no doubt. They both had fat lips and bloodied eyes before it ended.

Wolf bobbed right, and blocked his pops next blow, his right hand going back and chammbering full. "Over!" he shouted, spooking his pop into a weak guard. The massive, right handed uppercut sent J.W. Flying back into the wall, and he growled, sliding down the wall to his ass, Wolf standing over him. He panted loud. "Asshole... Pack's MINE now. O'Donnell AND Blue, the pack is MINE now." Joeseph raised his hand. "Right... yours... Unh..."

"Don't go to whining now, ya mongrel. Get up and apologize to me, you asshole." He held out his hand. Joe took it reluctantly. "Now, what'dya say, J.W?"

"Sorry I didn't tell you your family was alive." Joe popped his jaw around and winced. "Shit. You have to hit me so hard?"

"What the hell, you weren't even PULLING your punches."

"And you were?"

"Yeah. Until the end there, I was. Until I realized you were fighting for keeps, I wasn't being too rough on you."

"Huh. Well look what that got you."

"A fat lip and a busted eye."

"See? What did I tell you about pulling your punches?"

"And what did you tell me about trusting my gut?"

"Touche."

"Quite."

"AHEM!" Peppy coughed. "If we're quite done measuring penises, Gentlemen?"

"Hey. I was watching that." Krystal said. She finished the bag of popcorn with ears folded down in depression.

Peppy just rolled his eyes. "Now. Where were we?" He ticked off a few things on his hand, and then jammed a lollipop in his mouth. Pepper was right – lollipops made things better. "Right. Andross' war. It, apparently, started with Admiral Haru. Macbeth Haru had a bone to pick with Senator Signs – dead shortly before the war, if you remember?"

"Yeah." J.W. Spoke up. "It was a hit by the Polawski Syndicate – lesser known group of criminals who weren't localized, at all." He sighed, and shook his throbbing head. "Senator Signs had signed off on an order that exiled all 'Feral Lylans' from Corneria, unless they were Stock animals. Cows, the like of that. Well, Haru's Daughter was born Feral – and shortly after they signed this bill, she was kidnapped, slaughtered, and sent back to him as goat-burgers."

"Shit." Wolf said. "So, Haru took out a hit on Signs. But where does Andross come in?"

"Andross was under a contract. Military contract. Project 'Brushfire' – a project designed to induce, and remove, Ferality. Reconstructive surgery can give a feral hands, and feet like a normal Lylan, but, if one goes feral, they still get shoved into stock just the same. And they don't get a regressive surgery, so you can always tell who's a feral-gone-Lylan, and who's a Lylan-gone-feral. So, think of this..."

Ka'Shar spoke up. "Turn a Lylan feral, dump him in enemy territory. Remotely turn him Lylan, he completes the mission from the inside, and goes back feral, safely accepted back into state folds." Ka'shar shook his head. "This man was a monster."

"Not at all, actually. That was the military application. All test subjects were irredeemable ferals. Ferals dropped off after torture and things like that. Well, he almost had a cure, when he stumbled onto something. The Spectra Effect."

"Wait..." Peppy spoke this time. "I know about that. How a steady diet of spectra flowers turned those two cat twins in the basement Lylan!"

"Exactly. There are random birth mutations, because of our volatile genetic structure. But, spectra tends to change the genetics of consumers after a while."

Krystal paled. "Wait, so, reading minds is trashing my genome?"

"Fortunately, no. It seems, that the spectra effect only works one way. Upwards. Those who go feral through mental destabilization are probably just spectra deprived. Almost every kind of plant life in the Lylat system has a 'spectra' content – Corneria having the lowest content per acre. Spectra grows in different varieties, Cornerian spectra is so weak as to be ineffective for experimentation. Fichinian Spectra, toxic to all life forms. Macbethian is dilute, but effective. Somewhere between saurian, and Cornerian. Aquan is the most powerful we know of, almost six times more powerful than Zonessian. We've heard of spectra on Saturn, but, that planet's a wasteland."

"What about Meteo?" Ka'Shar said.

"Meteo isn't a planet."

"I can't agree with you there." Ka'shar said. "It shows all the signs of being a burnt out planet that got blown up, probably by the Krazoa. And you know that Sectors X and Y have completely different chemical makeups, but by all physics, they shouldn't still be Nebula." Ka'shar shook his head. "They're all planetary debris. The evolution of a Krazoan weapon."

"Krazoa. Ha. The Spectra flower is just-"

"A genetic experiment by the Krazoa." Ka'Shar said. "Think about it. A plant, that survives all but the hottest conditions, can grow at two kelvin above Absolute Zero, and has effects when consumed like it does? Plus allows a strict Bio-mechanical interface, without an intercession AI? It has to be."

"... That's a mystery for another day. Let's move on. Andross had almost developed the cure for Ferality when Haru's daughter was killed. So Haru flew off the hinges. He ordered Andross to go to any length to discover the potential applications of the Spectra. And he did. The Similarian was the culmination of that research."

"Yes." Peppy said, looking amongst the people in the room. "And Leon has brought it back. So, now, I'm going to read you into Project Ruby."

Wolf and Krystal nodded, and looked at Ka'shar. "Look. Your choice. I run a mercenary crew. You want in, yer in, but you sever all ties with the government to be in."

"I'm in. I watched the records of Project Crimson that Haru had locked away in his office. Government can burn. I'm here to fix what's going wrong, and maybe cause a little hell."

"Alright. Read us in, Pep."

"Project Crimson was the project dedicated to the illicit and unethical development of Spectrumuis Ethralis Flora based technology. Project 'Ruby' is the follow up project, initiated to bring this illegal research to a halt, to allow full public access to Spectra Flora, and bring down the Polawski Syndicate, believed to be spear heading illicit research of the Spectra flower." Peppy sighed. "Basically, Wolf?"

"Find Leon. Kill him. Find the bastards doing this hellish shit to people. Kill them."

"And there are two other things I'm requesting of you personally. Find Fox. I want my son back. And... Wolf, Don't let this thing you're becoming be a lie."

"... I can do both." Wolf said this with a cold determination, surprising Krystal. "But it will cost... Fox... Fox is going to have to... to... " he looked over at J.W. "... Learn to live with a more crowded side of the moral compass. And as for the last bit? Ohhh, it's going to cost some criminals quite dearly."

Peppy smirked. "Alright. Get down to the armory, then head over to R&D. Turns out, I just got my 'personal stockpile' delivered – and my black-book stipend suddenly got expanded."

"Wait." Krystal spoke up. "... Does a... Doctor Patricia Maelice work here?"

"Er... Yes, actually."

"I want to kill her." Krystal said this with a bluntness that shocked wolf. "Slowly. And painfully. For what she did to my family. To my mother. To me."

* * *

"What is this?" The cockatoo said, blindfold masking her vision, and only footsteps around her. "I've done nothing wrong!"

"Really? Think back. Ocean Blue."

The smell of piss flooded the room as the woman suddenly let her beak drop open. "No..."

"Yesssss... You see... it's kind of fun. The things you did in my head. Removed certain bits. Made it hard to think for a while. But I fixed it. Want to know how?"

"No..." The word was a low wail. She felt weight on her thighs. "Please..."

"You see, the parts of my head you cut... the scars on my mind... well, they're nothing, really, compared to a really good drug. One that has the tendency to have long term regenerative effects. The Spectra. You reduced me to barely more than feral, bitch." The Blue fox had tears in her eyes, but her voice didn't break a bit. Wolf stood in the room, just watching. He needed to be here. Remind himself of what even the other side of the line he drew ages ago could be. Remind himself WHY he was a criminal gone good – and not just another piece of shit scum bag floating through the stars.

"We... oh goddess..."

"Oh no. She can't help you. Like the times you 'prayed' with us, looking at us with those hungry, lusting eyes. I want to see them." She took off the bird's blindfold. "Show me those eyes we all feared. Hated. Loathed. SHOW ME THOSE EYES, BITCH!" She said, claws breaking through the woman's beak.

"Mrg! MRRRRRRRRRR!" The muffled scream of agony penetrated down to Wolf's bones. But he wouldn't move. He would let Krystal take her pound of flesh. He saw what just the sight of the uniform did to her.

"Remind me... remind me why I lived in FEAR, Bitch!" She slowly began to pull the feathers off of her prey, blood splurtting with every pluck. "Remind me. Show me those hateful, lusting eyes. Ah! There they are. Are you jealous, now? Oh, You are, aren't you? That tick. Right there. Your body never lies."

"nrrrrhhhhhrhrhr..." The bird began crying, and Krystal ripped out a handful of feathers. "!"

"Tell me. Do you remember the seventy sixth time you put me in that cell? I do. You had just finished running a test that involved shoving a needle up my tear duct while you used a drill to bore through my skull, and remove a brain tissue sample. Thankfully, your 'medical' staff was on hand to pour medi-gel into the wound. Right here, I have a drill. I don't have a needle. They wouldn't let me have any." Krystal smiled so sweetly it shocked Wolf.

"Mrf!" the Bird screamed in agony as Krystal slowly crushed her beak.

"No no. I'm going to kill you quick. I'm not going to rape your mind, defile your soul, and THREATEN to have you raped to death for WANTING ANOTHER PIECE OF CHOCOLATE!" Krystal smirked, and picked up the power tool. "Shut up and die, you waste of meat." She said, and simply turned it on, drilling into the bird's skull.

The sound never will leave Wolf's mind. And neither will the image of Krys, standing there, holding a drill, crying as hard as she could, her face contorted like she was going to die of sorrow... But the sound that followed broke pieces of him he didn't care to admit he still had.

Krystal cried. As hard as she could, she cried. Wolf could tell, it was part sorrow. Part relief. And part abject misery. Wolf merely held her. He held her and cried with her.

Lazarus just hung his head. And he turned, looking back at the footage peppy has secretly delivered to him. "What you escaped." - All that was written on the film tin. And he hit play again, listening to the sounds of a blue, teenage fox being tortured by a mad bird with hate in her eyes, watching pieces of that girl in the other room's soul being torn apart. He vomited again, unable to cry any more.

"I shoulda been her." he muttered.

* * *

Venom

Fox looked up at the ceiling. His back hurt. It hurt like hell. He slowly eased up, groaning low, and looking around the room. "Shit..."

"Language." His father said, mimicking his son's motion, glancing about the room. The room slowly began to rouse, Slippy sitting down on the annihilated remnants of the corpse of the creature that attacked them. He was just pale, a pile of vomit resting on the floor between his legs. He'd lost all will to even move now. Amanda Frog was pressing her hand to his back, rubbing it. Katt was rubbing Falco's chest, looking down at him as he just laid there, unable to really overcome the images of that beast.

"... I've seen Falco blow up whole fleet sections... Seen slippy single-handedly save entire space stations from explosives. I've destroyed countless men over the years... but... that was..."

"The depravity of one furre does not reflect on the lot of us, Fox. Don't let Leon's twisted designs skew your vision. Keep a clear head. Trust your instincts."

"... My instinct there was to run, Dad."

"Then your instincts were right. Trusting them doesn't always mean following them." James smiled. He stood, slowly, and fetched a mop and bucket from the closet. Fox looked around. He slowly walked towards slippy, sighing.

"Slippy?"

"Hi, Fox. Sorry about using up our escape tools."

"Don't be. You saved our lives... and quite probably our dignity." Fox shook his head. "Don't be -"

"I tore this thing apart. I saw what it did to that bear. But I wasn't panicking... or even sick. I know I vomited, but, I didn't feel nauseous."

"It was just shock, Slippy."

Amanda spoke up. "He's not showing any symptoms of shock though. I mean... the reactions are there, but not the symptoms. It's weird."

"I don't even feel... anything, Fox. I felt something when I blew up a ship. When I killed those men on the station, I felt something. Here? Nothing. My only sorrow is for that poor bear."

"I get that. Just... try to forget, alright? It's the best any of us can do."

"Yeah. I'll try. Thanks... I … I think I need a shower." He stood slowly, and Amanda moved to follow him. "Er... Amanda?"

"You need company, at least for now. You're kinda shaky."

"Oh... right... well... as long as you don't look, I suppose."

Fox smiled, and walked towards Falco, Katt looking up with muted greetings.

"Falco?"

"... Leon is one sick fuck, ain't he Fox?"

"Language." The mopping James said it loud enough to make Falco wince a bit.

"I'll say. You alright, Katt? Falco's just a lazy bum, he'll be there till dad mops him up."

"Yeah, I'm fine foxy. You just go on and check on that sugar in the corner. She's got the look of a real minx tho, you be careful now, you hear?"

"I love it when you talk like that."

"You leave my drawl out of this, city slicker, and you just might get some sugar, sugar."

Fox faked a gag. Katt swatted at him, eliciting a groan from Falco, who immediately got every last inch of the feline femme fatale's attentions.

The Fennec vixen blinked seeing fox walk over, and she turned her head a bit, mostly to conceal the bruise – she'd been brought up as a tom boy, but still. That one had some lady killing eyes, she thought. He sat down beside her. "You alright?" He asked, the tone non-nonchalant, as if he weren't inquiring about her injuries, but about her state.

"What do you think?" She said, more venom than needed tinting her voice.

"I think you're probably shocked out of your mind, and taking out some of the fear on me. But, that's life. You're down here for a while. I don't think a combative attitude will get you far."

She looked at her 'councilor' of the moment, left eye swollen shut, but right showing nothing but pure malice. He just looked right back at her. "Drop the walls. Life's easier without them. It's easier to recover from injury, than never be injured. More fulfilling, too."

"I didn't come down here to get psychoanalyzed."

"I didn't expect guests, so we're even. You gonna lose the attitude?"

Fox was being a mirror, knowing that walls that get thrown too far up end up crumbling. Hell... he'd lost Krystal by living like that. And here, he saw a woman, tortured by her current predicament, in a living hell of another man's making. It took him back.

He wasn't seeing a pretty yellow Fennec fox with a chip on her shoulder trying not to let on she was mildly attracted to the handsome red fox with the white strip on his head. He was seeing a pretty blue woman, who was a little lost and in need of a hero. And he was determined to not be a hero this time. He was just going to be him. Because he didn't want to see his failures. He wanted to see a future. Even if it was just one for this little micro world they had, he wanted a future.

"Fine. I'm spooked, I'm pissed, and I'm wondering where in the FUCK we are."

"Language." James said, looking at the body as he filled up the mop bucket again, to wash away the blood.

"Relax. This... this has literally been the only thing more exciting than them throwing my dad through that door about a month ago. Anything else that happens in here... we can deal with it. We've got Slippy and Falco down here. Between the two of them, there's no situation we can't get out of."

"Fox!" James said. Fara blinked. That was Fox? And his buddies were Slippy and Falco? Realization dawned on her like a ton of bricks. And then fury towards Oxian – no, 'James McCloud' hit her even harder. He'd been her god father for all these years, and never told her that he had a son? She quaked. Fox and James began the slow arduous job of fixing the room up, and removing the body parts. But the daughter of Timothy Phoenix quaked with fury, most of it just at the world at large.


	10. Blood Wolf

A/N: Sorry about the lonnnng wait guys and gals (At least, I hope some gals read this.) I've had a lot going on, and one wicked case of writers block that lead into a pre-readyness battle with the dragon of this story, combined with a pre-ready-to-unite kryswolf moment. Sooo, I had to correct it. Thus, we have this: A chapter that fits this story to a T that I wrote in less than 5 hours.

Hope you enjoy your 10K words more of Star Wolf: Krystal's Gambit.

* * *

The elevator dinged. "First stop, the Armory." Ka'shar smiled. He was built short and stocky, but he was a beast it seemed. He stepped out into the room, and ten Armed guards leveled their weapons at him, then quickly saluted. "Sir, I'm sorry. We're all kind of on edge."

"Yeah, for real." Ka'shar looked at the group of soldiers – they looked bone tired. "Alright. Wolf, Krystal, How do we go about this?"

"You got a map?"

"Yeah." He pulled up his left hand, and tapped a few buttons on a wrist mounted computer – A holographic image of the level they were on emerged. Wolf hemmed and hawed.

"So. Where are we?" Wolf was already plotting and planning.

"Here, the central elevator."

"You mentioned something about Armor?" It was Krystal. Who spoke this – Wolf had intended to get weaponry first, but Krys was right. "We could definitely use it before we go after other things – Chances are, we'll encounter less resistance there."

"She's right." The Leader of the guards nodded his confirmation. "They're pouring in from the secondary elevators – those are all past the ballistics and weaponry wings."

"Alright then." Ka'shar rotated the map deftly, and chopped off a few points. Suddenly, they were looking at the fastest route between them, and a room with an orange dot.

"What's that dot?" Wolf asked.

"... You want the answer according to what it SHOULD be, or the answer as to what it PROBABLY is?" Ka'shar looked at wolf with a Deadpan expression.

"... One crack about a 'boss battle' and I'm shoving my claws up your cloaca."

"... It's the armor labs."

"You realize there's going to be a big ba-"

"That goes for you too, Krystal. This isn't some damn video game!" Wolf looked at them both bitterly. "... What is this base, cliché central!"

"... Sadly, it kinda is, Wolf." Ka'shar said while he rubbed his head. "That's kinda why we called it 'Ghost' base... Symbolism in words."

Wolf slapped his face.

* * *

Fox sighed, leaning back in his chair, throwing a rather spherical item up and down with a bored expression, As Fara drew on a piece of paper. Falco, of course, Was busy flirting with Katt, while she was making a half-baked attempt at escape. Slippy was, of course, drawing up blue-prints for something or other, getting serious input from his new, interested girl-who-could-be-a-girl-friend, Amanda. James just meditated.

Of course, Nothing ever stays simple when you're imprisoned by a psychotic madman.

The door ripped open as the flamboyant lizard stepped inside. "Good morning, Good morning! How is my favorite challenge conquering, dream wrecking team today?"

"Bored as always." Fox said, barely registering him.

"Wonderful! You see, I have had alllll these wonderful plans for world domination... blow up in my face." The faux happy-gay-carefree Leon was gone. They suddenly began to pay attention as he unholstered a blaster. James quietly let his hand go to the blaster he had salvaged from the battle with the beast.

"I want to kill something. Or rape someone. Or generally just be a sick twisted fuck. But then, I have clones of you kiddies for that. Ones that fight back just enough. It's an ego thing. It's fun raping you anally, Fox."

"I'll bet." He toyed with the power core he had been throwing up and down. It was the remains of the power core of the busted blaster James had used to rebuild the functional one. It had enough juice to explode.

"Yes. See, I tire of my little 'ego' boosts, and I'm getting ready to leave this base. So, I invite you all to join me in a little game of 'Escape the madman with the gun.'"

THWACK!

The team looked at Katt, who stood there with a rather crowbar shaped piece of bone, as they stood over the decidedly unconscious Leon. She looked back at them.

"... Well, Shuga? You kittens coming? Ain't no thing but a chicken-wing, and we need to shake it before we get dipped in the buffalo!"

Fara shook her head. "You make my head hurt." But she got up and followed the Pink feline as they began their escape...

Into an empty, unoccupied warehouse.

"... What the fu-"

* * *

"Okay, so let me get this straight." Wolf rubbed his temples. "You don't have any idea who's down there because the motion detector network is down, the enemy isn't synced up to the internal IFF grid... and we have no weapons."

"That's the gist of it, hound."

"Fuck a duck." Wolf said, looking down the hallway with the flickering lights. "And you said level 9 was beyond top secret, and there were escape hatches leading UP into level 8?"

"Yup." Ka'shar was looking more crestfallen with every sentence.

"So basically, we're going blind, into a poorly lit hallway, in hopes of reaching armor prototypes that we don't even know function as intended in combat?"

"Wolf," Krystal said, smirking. "Don't be such a pussy. Let's go!" And with that, she turned, leaving the DE-facto leader with a stunned and dumb expression, the smart guy of the team trudging along behind her, his mini gun hooked to his hip and a grim expression. "You comin?"

"Damnin fuckin pissin shittin bastardin bitchin FUCK." Wolf said bitterly as he walked down the hallway behind them.

* * *

Their former home of nearly a year began to slowly sink back into the ground – Falco, James, and Slippy held Leon down, and Fox kicked him awake.

"Ach... Och, Mammae. That was a lovely wake up. Oops, Did I forget to tell you? You're not the only thing on planet Venom I control."

"Shut up. Where are we?"

"Uhm... I don't know. See... I'm just..." Leon began to change, morph even. "A bit different than you remember..."

"Shitfuck." Falco said, jumping back.

"Language." James said, leveling his blaster at Leon's skull, and pulling the trigger, frying a hole through it as the metamorphosis continued. "Why does that NEVER work?"

"Don't know. Time to run!" Slippy said, hauling ass for the exit.

"Slippy! Wait!" Fox said, dashing to catch up to his buddy.

"Looks like he put on the boosters..." Amanda said, watching Fox dive and roll onto slippy, sending him behind a crate as a massive door came crashing down. "And managed to save his hide." She looked at the other open door, a group of soldiers standing there, holding assault weapons.

"Wellllllll fuck." Said Fara. James popped her on the back of the head. "Young lady, What have I told you about talking like that?"

"But you just tell them to watch their language!"

"I haven't been their godfather for thirteen years." He said, taking a step towards the shadows. "I recommend we all try to hide from this creature... because the beast is awakening."

"Oh shi-" Falco started.

* * *

The Journey reminded Wolf of video games. It really did. Down a dark corridor he walked, behind his two brave but stupid allies, his hands twitching in anticipation of an attack by unknown forces. Every clank of metal had him on edge. Every shadow in the peripheral had him jumping. "I hate not having intell..."

"Shoulda put more points in it." Ka'shar muttered, clicking his gun to the left, spinning the barrels and looking ahead. Krystal, however, seemed to be just fine.

"Would you boys chill out?" She mounted up on a raised platform, smirking. "Nothing down here but spiders and bad ghost stories waiting to be told."

"Doesn't matter. This place is putting me on edge."

Ka'shar turned a corner, and checked his map, then clicked a button, holographic arrows appearing on the ground shortly ahead of them. "Well, Looks like we're almost there. See that arrow down there? It's an access panel into the safe rooms that connect to the Armor labs."

"Oh gee. That's swell. We get to go through ducts. The last time I did, I ended up fighting one of Leon's freaky ass mutants." Wolf bitterly spat. "I hate duct-work! It's so damn CRAMPED!"

"Oh shut it." Krystal said, grabbing a crow-bar and beginning to pry at the switch. It groaned, then popped, and the heavy metal door ripped out of the way with a WOOSH, pressure equalizing. "Nff! Shit! Is that a clean room down there?"

"Shouldn't be..." Ka'shar said, looking over the edge, and holding his wrist out, the computer shining like a flash light. He shrugged, and then jumped down. "Geronimo!"

"Crazy fuckin cat..." Was all Wolf said, jumping in behind him, and Krystal followed.

Wolf crashed to the ground and grunted, ending up on his ass, Ka'shar landing gracefully on all fours, and Krystal rolling the moment she hit. He grunted. "You two can be REAL assholes, you know that?"

Ka'shar shinned his flashlight around, and blinked. "Guys..." He gulped. "This isn't right."

Krystal whimpered. And Wolf felt what 'wasn't right'. He pulled his hand out of the inch deep blood. "Shit, really? This deep? The fuck happened here?"

They looked around, spotting the exit door, ripped from it's hinges. "Let's not stick around." Krystal said, jogging quickly for the door. Ka'shar and Wolf followed closely.

The armor lab was lit rather well, A lone mouse quivering in the center of the room as the Trio Entered. "STAYBACK! I'?" She was talking as fast as she could.

"Whoa, whoa whoa, Relax, Relax..." Wolf said it, looking at Ka'shar for help, then blinking. He was covered in more blood than Wolf would have guessed.

"What the fuck?"

Krystal was already stripping off her outer layer of clothes. Wolf and Ka'shar suddenly found it VERY prudent to begin sealing the door. "You got a welder?" Wolf asked.

"Of course. Standard Engineering load out on this mini-com." He tapped a few buttons, and Suddenly, a tazer like appendage erupted from the front of the wrist-com. He punched it into the wall, and it sparked, the door effectively bound to the wall. He quickly did it several more times as Wolf began to look around, sealing other exits on the OUTSIDE of the room, with the manual locks. Ka'shar followed behind him, sealing them with the welder.

"So, miss. What's your name?"

"Mayuri..." She said, finally having realized that they were good guys. She slowly stood, unlocking the force field she'd contained herself in. "Who are you guys? Some kind of soldiers? Never seen you before..."

Wolf sighed, and looked down, Blood still covering his hands. He smirked. "You can call us Blood Wolf. We're a Merc crew. Peppy hired us to clean out the Andross supporters."

The Force field came back down. Krystal blinked, she had nearly been inside it. "Shit, lady!"

"You won't kill me, You hear! I didn't want to do what they asked, but, But..." Mayuri quivered inside her barrier.

"Whoa, whoa.. Calm down." Wolf turned to her. "We're not after the people who're bystanders in all this."

"But you just said you're here to kill us all..."

"Us all?" Ka'shar said, snorting. "Some of us were here out of pure scientific interest."

"And some of us are here out of unfortunate circumstance. We were SUPPOSED to be off world, headed for Meteo by now." Krystal said, sighing. "But, We're not, because of this stupidity. Gah." She sighed, leaning up against a metal Cylinder. "Look, We're after the armor, not you. We could probably keep you safe if we had it."

"Nothing can protect me from those... those... THINGS that did THAT in the other room."

"What exactly did that, then?"

"They... They came up from level 9. They were coated in bone and dark-matter."

"Similarians?"

"Different. Similarians have flesh – These didn't. I think they're former Lylans. Spectra poisoning or something, I don't know."

"I've seen it before. Leon's Serum..." Wolf sighed, looking at her.

"Leon Polawski? I'm working for HIM!"

"Yeah. I'm trying to stop him." Wolf walked into the light, and she freaked out even worse.

"OHGODWOLFO'DONNELLISGONNAKILLME!HOLYSHITI'MGONNADIEEEEEE!"

"ENOUGH!" Krystal said, turning to the mouse in the barrier. "I am ABOUT TO TAKE THAT MINIGUN THE CAT HAS, AND BLAST YOU TO SMITHEREINS IF YOU DON'T LISTEN TO US!"

The Mouse nearly fainted. Krystal growled. "We need that armor to make sure anyone still alive in here gets out alive."

"Wh... what promise do you have that you won't kill me?"

"My word as a wolf." Wolf said, and Krystal nodded. "And Mine as his mate."

Wolf blinked, and looked at her. Ka'shar stumbled, and ended up looking at her like he'd just been run over.

"... What? Like you didn't know already Wolf..."

"Bluntness leaves something to be said for it." He said, shrugging. Something slammed against one of the doors.

"No time. Either open em up, or die, Mousy." Wolf said, glaring at the Mouse.

She gulped. If she didn't open it, they'd take down the barriers, kill her, and probably not have enough time to save themselves. If she did, they MIGHT kill her, but she could reactivate the barriers, and keep them all alive long enough for them to get in the armor. She opened the barrier.

"Great, let's go, MOVE MOVE MOVE!"

The mouse closed the barriers and began to type on the console. "Minifacting center online. You three in the tubes?"

They all gave her the thumbs up. "Green light, Mousy."

"Good. Closing down the tubes now."

The tubes slammed shut, and all of a sudden, She began to type like a madman.

* * *

Fara hid against the solid steel containers, looking around the corner with a light breath. The demon the Leon-clone had unleashed was... disturbing. It was definitely a chameleon still – It could change the colors of it's bones – and it was hunting them. Fox looked at her from across the way.

"What do we do?" she asked, truly at a loss – She wasn't used to this kind of thing.

"Simple. We lure it to the guards, and get it to strike them."

"That never works in the movies..." She said, glaring at him as some of the team found them – Falco, Katt, Slippy, and Amanda all joining them.

"Doesn't have to." James said, stepping into the dim light the flickering fixture above gave out. "Matter of fact... I'm thinking we're about to have some unannounced company. Move with me, on my tail, and DO NOT deviate."

"Dad, is this another 'escape the exploding base' situations?"

"Kind of." James said, blinking at his son.

"You fucking run away this time, I'll beat your ass dead."

"Language son." James said, snickering, and motioning them on, as the beast watched slowly.

* * *

Wolf lay his head back, and looked up into the sky – well, as much of a sky as there was in the blue-lit tube as the Mouse initiated the procedures.

Liquid began to flow up his body, and spin around the chamber quickly. He grunted. Fur was gonna be knotted for months after this. But he felt very clean as it quickly drained, lasers measuring his exact physical dimensions. He grumbled as he felt the nannites crawl up his skin. "Hate nanos..."

Kevlar was a older type of protection, but, it was still the most effective they had against slashing attacks. And the nannites made it even better than the stuff the military normally had. The smooth black robots simply seemed to crap it out on his body, his fur amazingly left with room to breathe. He felt like he had fleas, or lice, or something. They continued to knit the Kevlar, and he blinked. It felt different. Like silk. "The hell?" He muttered, looking down.

Solid black, hexagonaly weaved, and in two layers. The nannites stopped and he felt dull pokers prod his back, the under armor beginning to fill with a gel. "The fuck is this shit?" He muttered, and tried to flex. He couldn't, due to the electrical current flooding the tube – it felt like it was gonna fry him! He began to panic, but the sensation stopped, and he could move. He did a full turn, examining himself. The under armor was basically a centimeter thick shirt, that extended to well past his waistline, and a pair of pants doing the same thing. It overlayed the shirt around his abdomen, reaching his ribcage, and he felt the shirt increase in weight – it was thicker and offered far more protection.

The bottom of the platform spun. "Please remain still." A voice uttered, clinical and bland. The nannites continued up, encasing his neck, extending the gooey shirt, and he blinked. "Carbon Fiber Spider-weave complete. Armor plating process beginning, Participant, Do not move."

The nannites dissolved, and became something else entirely – The armoring process began much the same way – A water flood with sanitation and sterilization properties, washing his under-armor down. And a flood of nannites creeping up his body. This time, they didn't manufacture much – Buckles, clips, other things, necessary to remove him from his armor. It began to weigh him down. Twenty pounds. Forty. Sixty. Eighty. One Hundred. He grunted. Then, he blinked as the nannites poured in from the roof. They engulfed his head as he felt a mild paralytic injection hit his blood. He wanted to scream and panic, but he had no chance. The nannites conformed to his head, forming a barrier at least an inch thick around his entire skull... then withdrawing from around his muzzle, and solidifying. He blinked as the toxin wore off. He looked down. His whole body...

Was encased in shiny armor. "Nice..." he muttered.

The voice came back. "Ferroceramic armoring process complete. Carbonization complete. Beginning wiring procedures." And the Inside of the tube suddenly erupted into spikes. "... Holyshit."

He felt something magnetize, and he couldn't move. The spikes began to rocket at him in precise ways, blazing patterns on his armor, and he looked down, then back up. They were obviously welding, soldering, and generally creating blinding light. He closed his eyes and relaxed. It was barely two minutes. "Wiring complete. Installing G-Repulsion system."

"G-Repulsion?" He said, blinking. Suddenly, he felt something attach to the back of his armor. And He felt it get lighter, but something lanced right before him, penetrating two blue barriers, before rocketing back to it's cradle.

"Shielding test complete. Removing external power supply, installing hydro-static generators." And he felt things attach to the edges of the joints of his armor. He looked – Small black rings around the rims seemed to hum as he moved them, And a little holographic image appearing before his eye. "Congratulations, you have been fitted with the Tactical Battle Armor Prototype."

He looked out the window. The mouse nodded. "I'm going to start the secondary function procedures no-GHUCK!"

She looked down, a massive fist through her guts. "SHIT!" Wolf Banged at the door. "NO! DON'T! SHIT!" He slammed his armored fist at it again and again. "SHIT! LET ME OUT!"

The mouse coughed blood, and looked at the system, then hit two buttons before expiring on the claw. The beast looked around, before his hand erupted into spinning bones, shredding the poor girl's corpse. It began to root around the remains.

"Select Secondary Armoring protocols." Wolf blankly stared at the corpse of the woman, now a mere bloodstain. They didn't have anything left to do down here... Nothing could have survived that creature running amuck.

The voice said it again as wolf stared at the remains of her in dismay.

He looked at the blue holographic list. "... Security suite, Commander Suite, Weapons monitoring suite, Standard and Advanced Military personnel suite." He said, picking off the ones he desired. The Spectra option didn't interest him.

"Installing."

Fifteen seconds later, his Tube roared open, and he growled.

"Let's rock, motherfucker." He said, looking right at the demon before him. His helmet suddenly collapsed, covering his face in armor. There was just enough room inside of it for him to speak.

Krystal and Ka'shar were still being put together it seemed, and Wolf rushed the beast. It jumped back, hissing in fear and fury, before it rushed at him. He stomped forward and it jumped back again. "... Instinctual Feline, eh?" he said, looking down, then around. No weapons. And armor disallowed the use of his claws.

"Shit, fuck that. LET'S ROCK!" He said, and stepped in quick, a HUD image of his armor suit's right arm turning green. He felt something inside of his armor seem to pull and hiss, but it did it's job.

His Right handed uppercut rammed into the bone, shattering the creature's makeshift armor. Warnings began to go off in the suit as he punched the electrified flesh of the creature, It's head lolling back dumbly as he lifted it's entire body by it's chin, smashing it back towards the wall. He rushed after it, leaping off the small, raised stage the tubes were on, and spinning to the left, his right leg straightening from the hip as he rounded his body, and then it snapped out, his foot becoming a meteor of sorts as the right foot took it's place firmly lodged in the creature's skull, blowing bits of bone away. It stumbled and fell, blind and concussed as Wolf stomped over to it. His left foot lifted, and he turned on his suit's magnetic boots. He forcibly stomped as the massive magnetic charge fired up.

The Creature's head popped like a swollen zit on picture day.

* * *

James had lead them up the stairs, down the stairs, around the stairs... And Falco had enough.

"Jeeze Laweeze, What's with the exercise in prepositions?" The blue avian growled wickedly.

"This." James said – In truth, he'd been LOOKING for this, a small, one exit room with no glass. Steel walls too, so it was fairly safe. The crew funneled in, and he pulled up a com unit. "Faye, This is Tiber – You are a go for Project Cleanse." He said, and jumped inside, closing the door, then locking it.

"Who- How the – What the fuck dad?"

"Had to kill a guard without anyone knowing, and the path we took avoided any other sniper-kill-zones. Faye is a Contact in Lisa."

"You work with Lisa?"

"Yeah. Faye is Agent Blue. She's working with Agent Red."

"... Why are they always colors?" Fox said, sighing.

Falco shrugged. "Usually, the colors don't even match." He looked at Fox with a blank expression. "I think it's for simplicity. After all, there's like, ten billion colors."

"Yeah, never run out of names." James said. "Besides. They already retired all the cool numbers and code names."

Fara smacked her forehead. "Seriously guys? There's a homicidal demon outside this room, trying to, if the other demon was any sort of preview, rip us apart, and then rape us until the sun explodes."

Fox, Falco, Slippy, and James looked at each other, then, simultaneously looked at Fara, and said, "Spoilsport."

Fara smacked her forehead again. "Ow..."

* * *

Ka'shar adjusted his shoulders as he stepped out, picking up his mini gun, and looking toward Wolf as he walked back toward the platform, shaking the blood off his armor. "Well. That was pleasant." He said to the cat.

"Yeah. Vomiting while they're putting a nano-formed helmet on your head. Real pleasant."

"Tell me about it." Krystal stepped out of her tube, and Wolf's jaw dropped.

Her armor provided the same amount of protection, no doubt. But the WAY it protected her... Damn!

Supple black bodysuit underneath a suit of crimson armor with a rather shiny hexagonal pattern stood out to him. But The curves... her hips looked like she was ready to walk the catwalk, her lusciously curved hips accentuated brilliantly by the pattern on the armor, making her look like she was wearing a leotard swimsuit, with hip-high stockings, and mile long touch me gloves. Wolf Drooled.

"So. Anyone else have a sore tail?" Ka'shar said, worrying with his thigh plate.

"Not really. Hooked mine around my hips and left it with a gap." Krystal said, adjusting her hips for effect.

"Same here." Wolf said, still blatantly enjoying the sight of his woman in crimson and black.

"Oh. I just let mine wave..." Ka'shar looked VERY uncomfy. He'd had a boner in tight jeans, but this was in reverse. It hurt, acctually, and he thought his ass was chaffing.

"So it's stuck in your Thigh-plates?" Krystal shook her head. It was more of a statement than a question, but...

"Yeah..." Ka'shar said, frowning.

"Take it off, wrap it around your hips, put it back on." Wolf said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, gimme a second." Ka'shar began to do just that, Wolf walking up to Krystal with a smirk.

The view from her end wasn't bad either. His armor spoke of masculinity – in fact, he was so buffed out, the damn thing had muscle definition. "So, Wolf, you enjoying your new toy?"

"I am, I am indeed. You?" He was about ready to see if this thing had a crotch-flap.

"It's... snug. But I like snug." She grinned, and shook her hips a bit, just to tease Wolf. "And I can move like I had nothing on in this thing."

Wolf was so glad she didn't see the instantaneous nose bleed.

"Got it! Alright, Let's see here... I think everyone should take a moment to familiarize yourself with the programs." Ka'shar said, crouching down and doing just that as Krystal began to mess with her suit's computer too. Wolf shrugged, and joined in, rather interested in what his suit possessed.

* * *

Cigar smoke billowed around the white poodle as she picked up her grenade launcher, holding it against her shoulder as she got out of the Humvee, her 'miss badass ariving' music cutting out as she stepped out. Her hot pink bikini top and way-too-damn-slutty booty shorts seemed to give her the look of a street walker – her heavy makeup did nothing to hide it either. The inscription on her booty-shorts, however, kept her from EVER being picked up by a guy. L.C.I.A. Shimmered in silver as she sighed, puffing her cigar, and walking in heels towards the entrance of the Warehouse. "Mother fucker just had to fuckin radio while I was at the beach." She muttered, grabbing her smg and looping it around her body, the strap separating her boobs. She looked like a military pinup girl.

"Purple." She said into a wrist-watch like device.

"This is Red."

"Mercy, James contacted me. You with the guards outside the door?"

"Yeah."

"Get out of there." She said, and pulled on her cigar. "Eta..." She exhaled long and low, grinning wickedly, "As soon as you can get out of those clothes."

Mercy blinked, looking back over her shoulder, spotting the white poodle stepping close, her grenade launcher ready to fire now. She looked over at her commander. "Sir, Permission to visit the head."

"Permission granted 624. Be quick about it." She quickly back stepped, and ran like hell for the Humvee, Passing Faye, who blew her a kiss, and caused her to involuntarily stumble.

"Dammit, Faye! Stop it! No time for that now!"

"You know you liked it, sweets." She said, lowering her Grenade launcher, and lifting the tip.

"You're such a cold bitch." Mercy said, as she began getting dressed in something less 'evil minion'

KTHUNK! SweeeeeeeeeeeeshhhBLAM!

"GYAHHHHHHH!" Kthunk, splat, sploosh.

"Ohhh. That's hot." The hematophiliac Faye shuddered. "Makes me soooo damn horny to see that shit. I love it when pig-dogs explode." Her misandrynistic side came to the forefront as she waded through the mess her grenade left, Mercy following behind her. "What do you think, Beta?"

"It ain't your blood, I ain't licking it up." She said, vaguely disturbed by just HOW much of a kink-bitch her alpha was, but completely in love with her all the same. She was now in a tied off white T-shirt and a pair of denim shorts, with stripper boots. She knew any guy who saw this was probably drooling. Of course, if they knew she was likely to get beaten black and blue by her abusive girl-friend for dressing any other way...

"Awww, is my Hematophilia too much for you?" She said, picking up an undamaged Assault rifle and tossing it to her mind-fucked head-slave with a smirk. "Isn't it what kept you from being Leon's brain-washed bitch-girl?"

"Just because you're kinkier than that sick fuck doesn't give you a pass." She muttered, killing a man who tried to crawl away. "It's your tongue and those awesome tits that does." That, and the split-personality disorder that made the love-hate-hate-love-hate on again off again worth it. And her intensely masochistic self. She never figured out why she enjoyed pain so much - or why it caused cascading orgasms whenever Faye sucked her blood.

"I love how logical you are." She said, blinking as the demon began to rush her, screaming. She just lifted her leg, and kicked it right under the chin, lifting it's whole body as Mercy ducked down, and unloaded a clip of plasma ammo into it's chest, burning a hole through it as Faye unloaded a clip of her own SMG into it as well. The damn thing danced back in mid air, then fell to a gooey soup, it's head rolling to Faye's foot.

And that's the first time Fox, Falco, and Slippy saw the two. Faye standing on the creature's head, Mercy obediently placed at her stomach, obviously shuddering with a seriously screwed up kind of pleasure. Faye blinked at them. "You dick-sucks gonna take a picture, or you just gonna whip em out so I can shoot em off?" She looked at the ladies walk past them with a weirded out expression. "Ooh... James, You didn't say you had three hotties down there..."

"Hands, mind, eyes, AND your watch off, Faye. Jeeze you're a homicidal woman." James said, walking past her with a frown. She didn't know the meaning of the word 'body armor' apparently. And this is why video game chicks always wore slut-clothes.

"I work with what they give me. Come on, kiddies. Let's get you off world." Faye said, motioning to them.

"We need the Great Fox." Fox said, not budging. "That means we stay on this rock, until I find my home."

Faye sighed. "I guess the rumors were true then. Star Fox really is the Rving trailer trash of the stars. Alright, Let's go then. Time to take you to base and kit you out."

* * *

Wolf perused the Commander Suite's contained programs – Life signs monitor for linked up suits, Holo-data-transfer module (For positioning information.), Telemetry and mathematics software, communications routing software... Basically, everything he needed to be up-to-the-second on where his team was. He quickly linked with Krystal and Ka'shar's suits. He noticed their names appear on the edges of his HUD, different colored bars appearing under blueish orange ones that floated under their name.

"Eh? Why do I have Your name on my HUD, Wolf?" Ka'shar looked up from his mapping program. "And what's with the little bars?"

Wolf shrugged, and sorted through the help files. "Ah. It's to deal with our Secondary Configs. Looks like Krystal's is her in-board Spectra Dose Supply. Helps manage proper use of her powers without running low in dire times."

Krys nodded. "Yeah – I can reload by using any source of Spectra – Matter of fact, seems this puppy has a spectra Geiger counter of sorts... I can locate spectra dense areas, and recharge from any source except background levels."

"Nice. What about you, Ka'shar?"

"Oh, I uploaded my suit with the Engineering suite – Full blown Minifacting suite and other things. But, It causes my suit to consume more power than usual – Should be a power gauge. Lets you know how much extra oomph I can produce. Oh, and extra strength hydro-static and momentum generators. It'll slowly rebuild my suit's energy surplus."

"Good. Let's see... what goodies do I have..."

Wolf blinked. "Huh. Advanced Soldier suite has a 'Burst strength' function – Seems that's what my bar indicates. Stress level on my body and armor. If it runs out, I can't use it because of safety protocols."

"Sounds great." Krystal smiled. "Course... you and even MORE strength is like giving a Mammoth steroids."

"Good point." Ka'shar said with a smirk. He smiled, and tapped the map again. "Alright. Objective located. We need to hit the Armory and head back upstairs. This path takes us through the lowest heat signatures I could find – Which means, least resistance – To the Armory. Then, it takes us up onto the main floor and back to the main elevator and stairwell. We should be back to Peppy in an hour."

"Great. Got your gear, guys?"

They both nodded. Wolf nodded, and knelt by the mangled remains of the mouse. "Thanks lady. We couldn't have done it without you. Sorry we couldn't... keep our promises."

He shook his head, keeping the tears from coming. "Let's go." He stood, and began a military jog down the hall the blue lines in his HUD indicated, Krystal and Ka'shar in hot pursuit.

* * *

"Fox... You really think..."

"Shut up, Slippy." Fox said, the crowded rear compartment of the Humvee was filled with junk food, weapons, clothes, and discarded feminine hygiene product wrappers. He shuddered a bit. Falco looked like was was going to puke. Katt was currently curled up and in Falco's lap, watching the trash warily.

Slippy was holding Amanda's hand. They were acting rather close, but not overt. Fara, of course, was sitting on the other bench, looking at Fox with a wary expression – She still hadn't found any reason to respect the Fox. She averted her eyes to Slippy and his girl. She suddenly found herself wishing she could hold Fox's hand. And she sighed. "This place is a pig-sty."

Faye looked back as she weaved the hover-hummer through traffic. "Oy! Bitch! Shut yer dick-licking craw you cunt! It's a mess because I've been on the goddamn rag and I ain't had the fuckin PATIENCE to clean out my car, because every other goddamn day, fuckin LISA calls me, says, "Go save this jack-wad who got themselves smashed up, locked up, or fucked up." So BITE ME BITCH!"

A poor Hover smart-car went flying as she just rammed the damn thing off the sky-way.

Mercy shuddered. "I love it when you're bossy." She said, leaning her blond haired head into Faye's lap, grinning wickedly and snuggling. James gagged.

"These two always weird me out." he said.

"Shut up, James." Mercy said. "I should STILL kick your ass for blowing up the O'Donnells."

"I DIDN'T! GEEZE!" James defended himself, AGAIN.

A beep on the Dash sounded out. Mercy idly slapped the button, a screen popping up as yet another smart-car went flying out of the Hum-vee's way.

"Agent Black to Purple team on Venom... Do you read, Purple Venom?"

"Agent red here..." Mercy answered, blinking idly to the screen, still a bit love-stoned about Faye.

"Mercy? Damn, have you gro- FUCK. FAYE!" J.W. let rip her name like he'd just crapped himself in fury.

"Yeah boss?" Her cool voice just served to agitate her boss.

"You got agent Red OUT of the target group?"

"No choice. She was in a kill zone while I was rescuing asset Comanche." She puffed her cigar.

"... Fuck damn shit piss... Alright, I'm on my way. What the heck is with that dyke ass... better not be touching my fucking foster-daughter..." he muttered before the transmission cut. Mercy blinked.

"... Was that J.W. O'Donnell?"

"Yes, Mercy, it was." James said from the back seat. "Why else would I break deep cover to rescue my son?"

"Maybe to rescue your son?" Fox said, glaring at his father. Fara glared at him too.

"Hey, Look, I was there because we NEEDED a spy-master for Venom. I've been Black Venom for 9 years, and just recently broke cover to find you Son. You weren't off the radar for a WEEK when I got out of that roll. Faye's the spymaster on Venom now, and let me tell you something..."

"It's sooooo great..." Mercy said as Faye rubbed the small of her back, making the younger wolf shudder and pant, causing a collective gag in the backseat.

* * *

The trip to the armory was uneventful – just two hacked security mechs that Krystal took down with a burst of spectra powered telekinesis. Apparently, her suit had spectra built into it that allowed her to amplify her powers a bit. She still complained it wasn't enough.

"After seeing you rip those mechs apart with a hand wave... I'm not sure I WANT to see what you consider 'enough', Krys." Wolf said, opening the door into the armory, jogging down the stairs to the bottom floor, and turning on the lights.

"Yuck." Ka'shar said, looking at the room. It'd been trashed by the Andross Loyalists. "I don't think there's much here to use..."

"Gotta be something, guys." Krystal smiled. "Let's see if I can find something I can use as a focus."

Wolf began to browse the room's contents – What wasn't wrecked, at least. They weren't TOO through, but they didn't leave anything high tech.

"Pulse Rifles, Beam Rifles, Slug throwers... Nothing Plasma."

"You won't find a Klutchinkov down here, you know." Ka'shar picked up a shot-gun, checking it out.

"Energy field blaster? Why that?"

"Close range – Rips through anything shielded. This thing can take out Apparoids like nothing, And We don't know how well those … demons, I guess... handle it." He picked up a heavy handgun side arm, and a sub machine gun. Combined with his slug-thrower mini gun, he was armed for bears. And Elephants too.

Krystal, of course, instinctively headed for the more 'primitive' weaponry. She managed to find the ONE sword in usable shape in the armory – A solid cold-iron Wakizashi. "Damn skippy baby! Cold-iron, Talk about a good find!"

"Eh?" Wolf questioned her as she picked up an energy SMG and a pulse assault rifle. "What's so special about it?"

"Basically, It's the best focus outside of a lightning rod or spectra infused weaponry I can get!" She grinned giddily, throwing it across her back plate, magnets securing it. She threw the smg on a leg-plate and readied the assault rifle. "You done picking guns, Primadonna?" She asked her mate.

"Fuck off." he said in a good natured jibe. "I'm a connoisseur, you know..." He browsed for a good bit. He finally settled on some personal favorites, outside of ODA load outs. A CAA AR-54, your basic slug throwing semi-auto high bore assault rifle, perfect for putting the enemy on their ass with one bullet, or spray and pray if you had the balls, and the bone density, to use it. A pair of semi-auto high intensity pistols, energy guns that could put a man down in one shot, and were accurate out to 50 yards. A Pulse shotgun, a nifty little gun that fired energy in a cone down field like it was going out of style, since it was automatic and choked down to near slug-like patterns, and a sniper rifle. Not one of those 'energy' sniper rifles either. No, this baby was a classic. Ka'shar whistled.

"Damn. Didn't know we had a Dracinkof down here..."

"Semi-auto, slug throwing, and accurate to a mile and a half. Damn. What a sweet gun. It's a new model too, has self-collapse. Only gun I respect that isn't an ODA throw-back. Damn bears made a goodie with this one."

He tapped the rifle, and it shrunk down. He threw it on his back plate, and geared up, throwing as much ammo as he could carry to his magnetic plates, and as many energy packs as he could into his hip bandolier. Krystal and Ka'shar matched the motions, and they began heading up the stairs.

And that is when the rather odorous, onorous matter ejected from the rear cavities of organic beings hit the rotational air circulation device.

In other words, they managed to run into a group of Andross Loyalists who were investigating two destroyed mechs.

"... Well ain't this a peach." Wolf said, holding his hands high, looking at the group of men with guns leveled at them. A program in his helmet ran the numbers quickly – Seemed they didn't have plasma guns with them. Ka'shar and Krystal stood just to his rear on either side.

"Alright boys, come out of the armor with your tails between your legs. Or we'll – Nah. Let's just kill em anyway."

"Wait!" Ka'shar said. He smiled, and looked at them all. "Don't you want to know where we got the armor?"

"... Not particularly." They said, and opened fire. Wolf and Krystal instantly began to dodge, but Ka'shar just stood there, pulling out his shotgun, blue light erupting before him and sparks flying off his armor as energy rounds hammered his armor. And he began to pull the trigger on his shotgun in a smooth, slow, left to right sweep, Rhythmic bursts downing groups of men in mere moments.

And Suddenly, It was over. Ka'shar stood there with a smile, Wolf's HUD showing that his shielding and armor had taken a massive hit, but the nano-repair protocols beginning to fix it as his shields began to recharge showed that he was more than safe. Didn't change how Wolf Reacted, however.

"You IDIOT! Goddess be damned, Ka'shar, But that was FUCKING STUPID! Your armor could have given out, this shit is fucking PROTOTYPE armor, Ka'shar!"

"Hey, relax. It was a calculated risk!" The cat Defended himself.

"BULLSHIT! I will NOT have my pack getting killed over a 'calculated' mother fucking 'risk'!"

"Jeeze... okay man, I got it. Fight like I didn't have the extra layer of protection." Ka'shar backed up. Even in armor, Wolf spooked him.

"I MEAN IT. You get your shit straight, kid. This ain't no goddamn video game! You fight to LIVE, not to win, GOT ME!"

"Fight to live, Got it." Ka'shar gulped. Wolf turned to walk towards the hallway to the elevators.

"What's his problem?" Ka'shar asked Krystal.

"His problem? His problem is you almost got killed, Ka'shar. If one of them had plasma, you'd be a crispy kitty right now... And Rightfully, you should be dead. Do NOT jeopardize the mission for your shenanigans." Krys sighed, and patted his shoulder. "Don't sweat it... but fight like you might die in the next two seconds, Kid. Always. It's how you stay alive as a Merc." Krystal tutted. "You ain't some invincible damn Mary sue..."

"... Who the fuck is Mary Sue?" Ka'shar said, following Krystal.

* * *

Falco carefully cross the floor of Faye's safe-house. "Sheeeee-it. What the fuck do you do, Mess the place up intentionally?"

"OY! Rooster, shut yer craw. The last maid ran off crying when I shot a shot-gun over her head." Faye said, dropping into the couch in the living room with a flop, sending pizza boxes scattering.

"Gross..." Slippy said. "Why'd you shoot at her?"

"Alright, shem..." She said, looking at the toad, obviously insulting him for his squeaky voice, "I shot OVER her head, AT THE GUY TRYING TO KILL HER! Christ, if men had tits, they'd be the dumbest thing in the universe. Stupid furre." She said, turning on the T.V. To hardcore porn, causing the guys to raise their eyebrows.

Mercy intervened. "Alright, alright, guys, Let me explain. Come into the kitchen... and get ready to clean. I'm not leaving my Faye-bunny in this kind of mess."

They followed the blond wolf with a shudder. The girls joined them, gagging on the smell. The place stunk to high heaven.

"Okay, Let me go ahead and explain Faye... She's uhm... Well, she's got split personality disorder. She's still 'guy Faye' right now. He's a dick – and a hold over from her pre-op days."

"Pre-op?" Fox said, instantly freaking out. Faye was a SHEMALE?

"Yes, Pre-op. She once was a guy with G.I.D. She got the snips, went woman, and got gang raped. So, she broke. Girl-Faye is nice, sweet, and innocent. And if you make her cry, I'll rip your guts out. And you know I can. Woman-Faye is... well, guys, Keep your belts tight and a grip on your pistols. She's a complete slut. You too ladies. I catch any of you touching my booty, and I'll neuter you."

"Roger that." Falco said, unintentionally scooting closer to Katt.

"And then you have weird-Faye, and Gay-Faye. Weird-Faye is, well, weird. She starts talking about goofy colors and stuff. And really strange stuff like strangling herself with a shoe-string while she masturbates to kung-fu movies. Gay-Faye is, well, Faye. The REAL Faye. Likes guys, likes things women like, is fairly normal. Cries on my shoulder on any occasion. Doesn't realize her other personalities are abusive as fuck, and doesn't realize we sleep together on a regular basis."

"So basically, this is like a bad sit-com." Fara voiced the thought everyone had.

"Yeah. And the only Faye who can clean house is Gay-Faye. The rest of them suck at anything but their specialized fortes."

"Sooo... Gay-Faye is the only nice one?" Fox said.

"Yup." Mercy said, sighing. "Now, we need to clean this hell hole before... dad … shows up."

"You're taking this a lot better than I am." Fox said, referencing his father with a motion.

"... J.W. Was the only man who ever gave a damn about me, and he still sold me up the river to Lisa. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful... I just wish he'd taught me how to kill a man with a touch before he set me loose in a den of rapists and thieves. Not that I ever got raped, but still, the point remains."

"So basically, I'd be like James sending me to prison." He said, grabbing a gooey pizza box and refraining from puking.

"Yeah." She said, looking around. "Well, come on guys. Time's a wasting."

* * *

Mood music hung heavy as they rode the elevators up to the command center, a group of similarly armored soldiers greeting them as they walked past them to the Command and Control room. Seemed that Peppy's soldiers had routed most of the opponents. "Peppy?"

"Wolf? Damn, looking good, Soldier. Unfortunately, you missed most of the party."

"Where'd the other guys get the armor?"

"Stuff they had in their bunks. After we retook floor four, this has been a piece of cake."

"So, You guys are doing good now?"

"Yeah. Turns out Ghost Base is just about ours again. Where you kids headed?"

"Well, We need to move on, but we also need the Intel you can scrounge up."

"Hook up to the CME-mail servers around here – Here..."

Peppy tapped a few things, and Krystal and Wolf received pings to allow a suite download. They accepted. Wolf blinked – his old user name from his Academy days. He quickly received an E-mail from Krystal.

OceanFox: Hey there, Sexy.

SteelWolf: Hey to you too, beautiful.

He registered her in his contacts, and got a message from Ka'shar.

Kittydoc231: Hi guys.

Another quick registry, and he quickly registered Peppy and the Venomian Spaceport responsible for his Cruiser.

"So, 231?"

"Number of college classes I had passed at age 20."

"Oh." Wolf sighed. Goddamn he was smart. "Well, Peppy. We need to go to Meteo."

"Hmm... Well, That means you'll need a FTL capable ship."

"We kinda have one – Just got an E-mail from the Ship-yard, Seems the boat they retrofitted for us is almost done. We just need some fighters."

"Well, We don't have pure Fighters here – We were developing Fighter-bombers here. But we have a few good ones to use."

"So what, another fetch quest, basically?"

"No, A trip out of here. Go on, Wolf. No reason for you to stay here any longer. We'll just chalk up your 'appropriations' to sabotage. Go." Peppy shooed them off.

And that's how they ended up in the middle of a massive low pressure Geode with a well concealed exit the only thing standing between them, and Meteo.

* * *

"So. Explain these planes?" Wolf said, as Ka'shar hit the lights. Row after row of prototype jets showed up.

"Each one of them is different. But honestly, most are similar enough you couldn't tell the difference. " He looked down the aisle, leading the Trio. "I prefer the Tiger Class, but we also have Dragons and Phoenix models. Phoenix is a bit faster, while Dragons are a bit heavier. In all aspects. Mostly, this stuff is all high level concept testing." He activated a computer. And he began typing.

"So basically it's all paper airplane junk."

"Yup." Krystal said, frowning.

"Anything Similar to the old Thunder XT-73s?" Wolf said, looking at Ka'shar.

"The thunders? Those things are... What do you bloody see in those?"

"Throw an Arwing engine in em, You've got a Wolfen. Mostly."

"Yuck." Ka'shar said, tapping a few buttons as a plane rolled forward far ahead, and some quick work by the computer loaded it out. "I'll stick with my Ruby Tiger, thank you." He ran ahead, jumping in a rather spacious fighter that looked like an ancient Jet.

Wolf Shrugged, and took a moment to figure out the computer program, looking at Krystal as she watched him work. "Lesse here... Yeah, the Dragons definitely fit my bill. Lesse here – Oh, That one's nice. "Nocturne." Bring this one out and..." He quickly began outfitting it, throwing laser pontoons on it's heavy frame, missile pods latching onto it's wings, and a nose-mounted solid cannon loading up. He Dashed off to find it with a smirk. Krystal, of course, was much quicker.

"Electric Phoenix. Install a pair of Gauss launchers and a Multi-lock Twin-hyper lazer, with sub-fire wing-mounted ring blasters." And she walked towards her jet.

* * *

The day was coming to an end – They managed to clean the whole house, though, Fox suspected they would be kicked out in a day, some of the floor had begun to rot, and worse, the whole place smelled like Saturnian cani-beast crap.

So he sat on the balcony, looking out across the city, elbows on his knees, his smaller frame still none the less attractive to the young fennec fox who sauntered up from behind, having scored herself some new clothes thanks to Mercy and Faye. He looked back over his shoulder, smiling at her. She looked a bit... Ghetto, but Venomian Ghetto – bright colors and a head band.

"Look, Fox... I want to apologize. It's been nearly a week... And I've been a bitch the whole time."

"It's fine, Fara. It was a stressful situation. You don't have to stick around you know." He said to her, looking out across the city again, lifting a cigarillo to his lips – It wasn't one of the fatties he smoked after a victory, but it was still stout. He puffed it, and sighed. "This isn't exactly a 'family friendly' business, as you can tell.

She sighed. "No, I do have to stick around. You see..." She pushed him back, leaving him blinking as she sat in his lap. "There's this cute doggie I know who's got this big black hole in his heart where he shot it out because he was scared of hurting something. And see, I know this woman who's got this chip on her shoulder and a little bit of an insecurity thing, but she sees a wounded soldier and she knows she's got the medicine he needs..."

Fox blinked. Crap, was this happening? From the way she ground her hips into his, he was fairly damn certain it was. Night was fast approaching, but it was still too light for the lights to come on. "That doggie probably shot his heart out because he didn't want to see what kind of a hero he was, you know... Didn't want anything but something low key and a bit sweet... but bitter too..."

"Mmmm... My friend hates passive aggressive."

"Well, that's good... cause this doggie doesn't dig that either." He said, standing up, holding her. He put her on the rails, and the G-diffuser safety kicked in, making her giggle. "Call me stupid but... Is this really happening?"

"I don't see why not... We're both consenting adults, and, I mean... You're hot. I'm horny. I like you. Sooo... why not?"

"Ain't we supposed to wait for love or something?"

"It's over rated. Leads to heart break and dumb-assery." She said, kissing him roughly, and he returned it with bravado. His hand found it's way to her back, and drifted up her spine. "Shit..." She said, turning her head to the side. "Oh damn, you're a freaking tease..."

"Yeah. I get that sometimes." He sniffed at her neck, and licked his way under her fur, touching flesh. "Nnh..." He said.

"Sh... Sh.." She growled a bit, wrapping her legs around him, her civilian-hard nails scraping his back. He snarled, and began to nibble. Her hips bucked against his, and he growled. "DO it.."

"You sure..." He said, looking at her.

"Do it you goddamn pussy." She said, glaring at him. He nodded. He undid his pants quickly, and dropped them, while she removed hers in a complicated one leg at a time maneuver that left their fur slightly tangled. He blinked. She kept the whole region trimmed down to less than fuzz. "... That's... new."

"Shut up and get down there."

He obeyed.

And she cried out his name.

His tongue trailed up, from the inky black depths of lust, to the bright cherry red of passion. She howled. "Damn that's nice!"

"Stop talking." he muttered. She didn't need to correct him on this. Natural talent he knew he had. His fingers found her thighs and separated her, baring her to his assault – and assault he did. His tongue snaked it's way into the depths of her cavern, and he wondered if he could keep it up until high tide. He wanted it honestly, he wanted her to wash him away. Hie hands spread her into his elbows, as the shielding around the balcony kept her back mostly straight. His right hand found her sweet spot, and rubbed as his left put her thigh on his shoulder and his hand strayed to himself.

"SHI! FU! GAHHHH! FOX!" She screamed – And the shield went opaque as the glass in the balcony window frosted. She waved at Katt who gave her the thumbs up. She didn't care if she was seen, but she liked that Katt had the discretion to mask them.

He kept it up, tongue rolling, undulating – Hell, a lot of Lylan women had tentacle fetishes just because that's what any canine breed's tongue felt like. She grabbed his head fur, and he opened his mouth wider, licking up and down, digging it into her – And she clenched, popping his ears roughly, making him yip in pain as she flooded – and it wasn't what he expected either.

Frothy white and thick, it flooded from her body in a wave, one good solid burst that didn't squirt but came damn close. He stood, and grinned. "You done?" he asked bluntly.

"You haven't even started yet." She said, reading him with a wicked grin.

* * *

Ka'shar stood before his ruby red jet, It's long, sleek, but heavy body loaded to the teeth with missiles and rapid fire weaponry. The Tiger Model was based on all around above average performance, but had to sacrifice armor to maintain a combat edge. Didn't matter, he could install some serious firepower later. He jumped in, and adjusted the plane a bit, and smiled. This was the last one he actually flew, too! He hooked it onto the launcher as it gassed him up, Fusion torches lighting up behind him, and slinging him off into the massive Geode.

Wolf's jet was similar, but more triangular. It had twin Turbo jets for Atmospheric superiority, but suffered in space combat, but more than made up for it with deflective shielding using barrel-oscillation technology, and heavy armor, combined with multiple missile storage facilities and a large number of wing mounted munitions racks.

Krystal's plane, on the other hand, was a back-wing sloped bird, with a pair of close mounted Gauss cannons on the middle of it's body, a few missiles and laser pontoons spread out on it's long wings, it's massive engine giving it huge acceleration – and amazing in atmo top speed.

She looked at Wolf as she started the ignition process. "Wolf, You ever feel like something very wrong just happened?"

"Honestly, yeah, Krys. I had that sensation just a moment ago. Like hell froze over."

She shrugged. "Eh, Fox is probably getting laid." She said, then blinked, gagging on the mental image.

"That's just Gross, Krys." Wolf said, choking on his mental image as well.

"At least he's not looking at tentacle porn, lolli-ho~!"

"You spend too much time on the net, Ka'shar." Krys said, shaking her head.

"What can I say? I like the Memes." Ka'shar said as the automated launching system began to taxi them.

* * *

"Ugnh! SHIT!" Fox said, feeling himself slip in, smash something, break through, and slip further. He drew up his right leg. "God damn! SHIT! Fuckin..."

"Whoa whoa... ow... You new at... nnh..."

"Yeah..." He twitched. It was so tight! So... God, it almost hurt it felt so good! Felt like his skin was trying to come off inside of it, even WITH the barrier between them. "Holy shi- FUCK!" he said, losing his marbles. He tried to bend over to gather them, but she held tight. "But I jus-"

"Shh. It happens. Two second virgin and all." He frowned as she moved a bit and winced. "Give it a second."

"I have to change the con-"

"Fuck that. I don't care about that piece of damn plastic. Matter of fact, get rid of it. I want the full Monty." She said, her breasts pressing up against his throat.

"You sure? I mean... you could get..."

"Stop being a damn pussy and get rid of your fucking love-glove before I bite your ear and MAKE you my bitch."

"Roger that." He said, obeying her, and impaling her again – This time, there was no pain. He nodded a bit. Note to self, don't use the double ribbed for his and hers on the first time ever again. Or at all, for that matter. He pounded into her, his hips smashing hers and she rolled her head back in pleasure, growling with extacy as he began to pound in and out.

"Shit... That's right... oh god, Is it bad I want you to wreck it on my first time?" She said, looking down at him, wanting it rough, despite the tick of pain she had in her belly at the very end of his carnal alley of destruction.

"Honestly, I don't know. Let's play it... Nngh! By ears!" He said, grabbing hers in his teeth as he turned her over, grabbing her breasts and pounding, feeling her tail beat against his chest. He held tight, and found that it was far, far less of a pressing matter of losing his marbles as keeping them together.

"SHIT! Fucking shit, Rip that up!" She said, grabbing the railing and groaning as he obeyed, going at it harder, keeping his pace, and lifting her ass with every pound. Her feet were barely even on the ground it felt like, but she was in heaven. He growled, and bit the back of her neck as she tightened, screaming his name as she fought the urge to blow, and failed miserably, a cataclysmic failure of safety protocols.

He felt it. He let go of her neck, leaned back, and with three final mind-shattering hammers, howled out her name. "FAAAAAARRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAA!"

* * *

They took off, the roof opening into a nearly 400 yard tube, and they all entered the tight squeeze, hammering the accelerators as the magnetic rails in the launch tube powered up, dragging them up towards the exit as hard as it could.

"Blue to Steel." Krystal said.

"Steel here."

"Did you just feel that?" She said, growling.

"Feel what?" He said, blinking over at her. They were approaching the end of the launch tunnel.

As they erupted from the inky black into the bright white, she snarled. "That. The symbolism of that. The whole ..."

"Yeah. I have no idea what your talking about, Krys." Wolf said.

"It felt like something that should have been mine happened." She said, snarling.

"Are you sure it's not just your Telepathy?" Ka'shar asked, blinking. "I mean... It's theoretically possible you felt someone somewhere doing something that resembled what we were doing."

"Erupting? I keep thinking of Volcanoes and I keep getting pissed off..." She said.

"Yeah. Volcanoes." Wolf said. "Clear your head, Krys. We gotta shake a tail feather to the gate system to make it venom."

"Yeah yeah... Just... feels weird." She said, falling in as Wolf's Wing man.

* * *

Dust clouds erupted around their exit of the planet's crust, shooting off into space so fast they left ionized trails behind their jets. Peppy closed the video feed. "Alright. Let's finish this up. Agent Black?"

"Yes, Sir?" J.W. Looked at Peppy inquisitively.

"Find Leon."

"Roger." J.W. Turned off his Vid-feed. Marching ahead, towards the cockpit of his cruiser, looking grim. "Let's see what that green bastard is up to..."

* * *

A/N: Well, I don't usually do this, but, Let's give some shout-outs! So don't read further if you don't care, the chapter ended up there.

**Zephyruz: A loyal fan is always appreciated. Thanks much for your generous reviews!** Don't be afraid to be critical of stuff either, I can't get better at it if you don't tell me where I suck! Ha! And don't worry, Your moment of Wolfie X Krys hotness is coming up.

**Logan666:** Don't know if that was your first review, but lemme tell ya, I couldn't forget the Wolfie Krys. But, things like that are worth the wait. It's coming soon, and there's even a Wolfie Krys 'bone' of sorts in the story. See if you can find it!

**Orbit9:** Yeah, Honestly, This is part of the big problem with the fandom. And it's the reason we got the pure puke-fest that is command. I'm sorry, Fox doesn't deserve Krystal, ever. He's not even the Male Fanservice character, why should the BDH ever get a woman who isn't a BDH? Mr. Wolf O'donnell, the Fanservice king for the girlies gets the Ms. Innocent Fanservice Krystal! PM me your hosting site of the pictures, I could use a little WolfieKrys inspiration.

**Anyone who is a furry that reads this:** I am aware that a good portion of the furries reading this are probably gay. Yes, I know this story is EXTREMELY hetero, but, Faye and Mercy are a good bone for you, and they're not the first. Let's just say there's a sort of Lazarus project in the future. (Cookies for anyone who gets the obvious pun.)

And I'm going to go ahead and write Chapter 7 now. Hopefully, I won't write myself into a corner for the fifth time on this story.


	11. Beastly Whirlwind

A/N: Come on folks, I'm breaking 60k here, Let's see some reviews!

* * *

Wolf was sitting back in his fighter, his armor actually sort of comfortable. The Gel insert managed to form a pad, and his low level electric charge, just like any other creature, managed to stiffen it to 'comfy' levels. They were lined up at the Jump Gate, waiting on a Venom Cycle – such a rare planetary destination, they were going to be here for two or more hours. Ka'shar broke first.

"Come the fuck on! A man has to piss back here!" He said testily, waiting in the Venom jump line – One of 12 total ships in the queue. There were nearly three thousand trying to transit, with hundreds of luxury space liners, FTL driven ships, that were trucking out. They didn't HAVE three days to wait for an FTL jump, in fighters, without rations. Or bathrooms. He missed his Wolfen – He could have just laid the seat back and slept for an FTL jump, and it had a makeshift commode.

This hunk of junk had nothing of the sort. Sure, it was large and comfy, but... It just left that sense of 'home'. He looked up to Krystal's bird. "Krys, you there?"

"Yeah Steel?" They had decided on that code name. Wolf was still a bit... skiddish. His real name still brought up flags. "What can I do you for?"

"Free, if you find a bed." He quipped, eliciting a chuckle from Krys and Kash, as he had come to call his brilliant engineer on crew. "But seriously, Ain't it stupid? They finished our cruiser in two days? How so fast?"

"Simple. Nano-assembly. It's been huge on Venom ever since Andross wrecked the place. It's how they got rid of the smoke and pollutants so fast – They dropped specialized protein bombs in the atmosphere, air bursted them, and viola. Toxin digesting flowers."

"Aren't those Spectra based, Kash?"

"Huh? Yeah, yeah... Sorry, my eyeballs are floating here, I have got to piss so bad I'm ab- son of a bitch."

Wolf chuckled. Krystal made a disgusted sound. "Welcome to space flight, kid. You have just encountered the number one 'son of a bitch' moment of space. Pissin yerself in line for a jump."

"No wonder so many mercs operate out of cruisers..." he muttered. "How am I supposed to deal with this? I've got piss balls floating in the cockpit here..."

"Were you trying to piss in a bottle... in zero g?" Krystal said. The very same thing happened to her the first time Fox had taught her how to fly.

"Yeah, well, didn't have many other options." He said bitterly.

"Ka'shar. You're supposed to stick your dick IN the cup."

"How, It's got this freaky pink thing on it!" Ka'shar sighed in defeat.

"Dude, That's the lid you goob." Krystal said, shaking her head. "At least you don't have to piss in a breathing mask."

"Ain't that the damn truth. You women pilots get all the fun toys." Wolf muttered condescendingly. "Now, Ka'shar, this is gonna sound stupid. Hard-seal your suit. Put your helmet on, and pop the canopy for ten minutes."

"Why the fuck for Ten damn minutes?"

"Explosive D-comp is a myth. Basically, you have to PUSH the piss out. So I recommend you grab a napkin." The steel gray wolf was trying not to crack up.

"I ain't got one!"

"Then use the air hose. Behind your seat, on the left hook. Should be green." Wolf said.

"The one labeled waste?"

"Yeah. That one." Wolf shook his head. Krystal looked at him with an evil eye. Of course he was gonna play a trick on the rookie.

So Ka'shar followed orders, then screamed bloody murder as the tube did absolutely nothing. "Wolf, It isn't working!"

Wolf laughed like crazy, snickering to himself as Krystal took pity on the cat.

"Ka'shar, That tube's a vacuum. It's used for the poops. Close your canopy and vacuum it out. And don't miss anything. Piss fries circuits." Ka'shar sighed. "Yes, we've all heard the jokes."

"Firing the yellow laser out the poop shoot, watch out on my six!" Wolf said, jeering his wing-mate.

"Dropping the brown Chaff!" Krystal said, snickering, unable to resist the joke.

Ka'shar tried to join in. "Unloading the space mines."

The com channel went dead.

"Uh... guys?"

"... Bad taste, Kash. Bad taste." Wolf said, shaking his head in shame. Krys was just resting her forehead in her palm.

They heard a Com-horn go off from the back of the line. "Whatever ASSHOLE is in the fucking FIGHTER in front of me, LEARN SOME FUCKIN MANNERS! I've got piss in my goddamn intakes now, How am I supposed to make planetary descent now! ASSHOLE!"

Wolf smashed his muzzle in horrified numbness. "... Ka'shar, Rotate your ship perpendicular to the freaking Travel lanes... god, that is gross."

"Okay, Look, I'm new to this!" Kash defended himself.

Krys just shook her head.

* * *

Fox woke up with a minor jump. Fara curled up tighter in his arms. "Th... Did I really just do that?" He muttered, blinking. He shook his head. "Damn..."

His father sat nearby, sipping a coffee on the balcony. He looked over at his son, and smiled. "You know, that's the same way I fell in love with your mother."

"SHIT!" Fox Jumped, and looked at his father, a headache coming on, Fara still snoozing away.

"Calm down son, don't wake her." He said, smiling. "And watch your language. That's two I let slip."

"Sure dad... Ugh... Wow, did I... So, what now? I mean... I don't even know if I like her..."

"Just let it ride, kid." James smiled. "Your mother and I were shagging for three years before we 'fell in love'."

"You sure? I mean... This ain't even home." Fox said, frowning.

"Doesn't matter. Home is where the heart is. And besides. She's good for you. She can be tough when you're not. You're... well, son, You're just about... well, a pussy." James said, taking another drink.

"Eh... Dad, What the hell do you mean by that?"

"You're wishy washy. You have a tendency to rush head long into danger, but Fox, You have no sense of toughness. You can't bull rush your way through life. And you know that. You have a tendency to have tact – Something you don't always need."

"Dad... Aren't you being kind of... I don't know... Forward? We have some unresolved issues anyway... Besides. I'm almost 30. Even if it's casual, I think I'm entitled."

"That's my point. At your age, and you just lost your virginity... Hell, Is merc work that unglamorous these days?"

"Yeah... It's taken a real dive." Fox shook his head. "Hell, it's so bad it's a noir film these days. We need crime labs, hackers, Dad... It's become it's own culture. Mercs do everything for the normal man. The governments criminalize everything but 'guilded' work styles – Pirate guilds run amok, bought and sold by The warlord of the week. Blood and money spin the galaxy, and we can't even find love, unless it's at first sight, and even then, you have to blast through barriers."

"So you're finally seeing it, huh? It's why Phoenix had to die." James sighed, and shook his head.

"Uncle Joe never showed up after you disappeared. Only sign of him I ever got was 'agent black is watching' – Uncle Tom, I don't know what happened to him." Fox said, holding the woman in his arms closer. Talking with his dad always enforced the sensation of loneliness.

"Thomas Phoenix." James said, referencing uncle tom – Fox didn't need to know that Joesph O'Donnell was his god-uncle.

"Oh... So I'm not related then?" Fox asked, spooked a bit about the possible relation to Fara.

"No, you're safe. Well, son... I'm going back inside. Faye's bringing out the arsenal and trotting around topless. I'm not one to pass up a good show."

"You old perv." Fox said, shaking his head. "I'd say -"

"Don't. Old memories leave … very deep scars." The older fox said. He shook his head. "Vixy..."

Fox looked down. Fara looked so much like her – It made him warm.

* * *

The gate resolved into real-space just outside Venom's Gravity well, in the narrow gap between it and the Macbeth Gravity well. It was a two day slow burn to Venom, but a two minute light-jump. Wolf, Krystal, and Ka'shar quickly slaved themselves to a 'quick-jumper' – a type of space tug. The Jump took less than 30 seconds. After a four hour wait at the Jump Station near Zoness, it was a relief to see the space stations around venom – Area 6 as it was called, had developed into a massive industrial complex.

Ground Based nano-assembly was the norm, but military ships tended to be produced in zero g. They had far too much in the form of tonnage to lift off, without Grav-Tugs. And those puppies were reserved for G-diffused light-jumps from Jump-points. The trio of fighters whipped around the busy space zone, Flying quickly towards their destination.

Wolf Docked first, his ship rattling into the dock on the space station quietly. He hit a few buttons, and his ship locked out – only his DNA profile, Verbal code, Retinal scan, and Vein-print would reactivate the ship. He jumped out with a grunt, The station was supremely low grav, to the point that magnetic boots were required, except in the docking areas – They needed high grav for getting in and out of the ships, and to keep them steady.

Ka'shar and Krystal jumped out behind him and smiled. A young man greeted them warmly. "You the ODA group?"

"Yeah, That's us." Wolf said as the other two strolled up. "What can we do for you?"

"We've got your boat assembled and kitted out. You can claim it through here. But ah... there's a bit of an issue."

"What's that?" Ka'shar asked, skeptical. "Because, let me tell you, the whole 'everyone's in danger' bit is getting old."

"OH trust me, I know. It's like the whole Galaxy is on it's ear." He shook his head. "Follow me, I'll explain on the way."

Krystal rolled her eyes. "Now I see where you get the growl at. And the aggravation about 'video game conventions'. Is the whole Galaxy like this?"

"How else do you explain a full fledged military relying on Mercenaries to do specialized operations? I mean, It's stupidly bad." Wolf said. "Can't they do anything right?"

The lemur laughed. "Yeah, bout that. See, The military is too busy fighting the REAL threats to galactic security – you know, wild cat mining, attempted terrorist meteor drops, things like that. They're too busy to handle the issues the cops can't, because you know, The Cops are always out to handle the real crime, like drugs, robberies, murders..." He rolled his eyes. "You mercs always bitch about getting work."

Ka'shar snickered. "He has a point. I mean, really, what do mercenaries do but assassinate megalomaniacs for money?"

Wolf and Krystal blinked, looked at each other, and sighed. Damned if he didn't have a point. Krystal perked up. "Apparoid Crisis. Explain THAT."

"Arwings and Great Fox are cutting edge tech – Draw effect and things like that. G-Diffuser. Just too damn valuable to produce en mass. That's why Beltino gave it to his son's mercenary crew. Slippy was kind of pushy about it anyway. And Fox, Falco, and Slippy were the three highest scoring students at the academy. Basically, They're the elite. As far as why the Military doesn't control them, Plausible Deniability, and, of course, Control it's self reduces the usefulness of a slave." The lemur said, looking back at them.

"The less free will something has, the more restricted it is." Wolf said, nodding. "Sounds about right. Anyway, enough philosophical chatter about the political shitstorm that is Lylat. What's the job?"

"Kill these guys. They have some serious issues around here. They're geared up for war, and they're about to start a serious turf battle. It's going to become a blood bath, and this company doesn't need that. Our Nano-techs don't need to be extorted or anything like that." The lemur handed wolf the paperwork for his cruiser and mercenary licensing, as well as three photos. "Also, This is going to be a legit contract, and we will NOT pay for ODA or Star Wolf." The lemur looked at them before sitting down behind a desk. He suddenly looked a helluva lot more imposing.

"You're... Richard Manx."

"The one and only. I run the Manx Complex, and I will NOT be muscled out. All the Merc Crews around here know me, hate me, and would kill to kill me. So I work in THIS Shithole. These three groups are merc crews who straight up don't like me – simply because I refused to sell them military grade cruisers. My brother really fucked up selling you the one you have, and trust me, He's still regretting it." The Lemur looked at them. Wolf merely smiled as the other two realized this was really the seedy underbelly of the galaxy.

"Let's fill out this shit then." Wolf began to scribble quickly – quicker than most assumed he could write. It took him less than five minutes, all told. "Alright. Here you go, Manx. I suppose you'll sponsor us?"

"No." Manx said, looking over the paperwork. "Blood Wolf, eh?" He said, looking over a pair of glasses. "And the Ship will be registered under "Blood Dragon"? Really?"

"What? I never said I was a writer. Give me a break."

Manx shook his head.

"Look, Let me tell you something, Blood is one of those call signs that will get your boat ganked by the Cor-navy. Here. Something Innocuous. Air Lupine as your Business name will get you steadier business, and let you expand in three or so years..." He scribbled it down. He looked at Wolf. "And as far as the ship name goes? I christened her already. Had to get her lifted off before the gangs got to her. She's the "Black Mercy.""

"Black Mercy?... I like it."

"Yeah. Alright, so, Air Lupine, as an... hold on..." he looked at a computer screen as he typed.

"... Official mercenary business specializing in delivery and air or ground combat..."

"Delivery?" Wolf asked. "I ain't some glorified drug runner..."

"You're a Glorified Gun Runner." The Lemur said with a Deadpan. "You'll be hired by me first, as a private citizen, on a contract. Here's the contract."

He pulled up a ream of paper, then tossed it in the garbage. "Shit's super complicated. Standard 'mercenary business license' crap for private citizen bounties. Fuck it. Here. Sign this."

He gave Wolf a post it note with a digital stamp and a bar code – signs it'd been notarized – that said '1 million federation credits, upon completion of the obtainment of imminent security for the person of one Richard Manx via the elimination of direct or indirect threats. Specifically, the elimination of three preidentified threats. Payment of funds to be tendered into the Cor-Fed bank of Fichina, in a Tax Free corporate account.' - Wolf blinked.

"Damn. This shit is above board as it gets... I won't even have to kill you to get my money."

"Shut up and go kill them." The Lemur said, waving them off.

"How'd you secure us a Tax-free corporate account?" Krystal said – She knew a little about finances in Lylat.

"Honey, Look, I'm Dick Goddamn MANX. No one questions me when I say I need a shell account that I can redeem for a real account. I'm a Co-signer on that account, mind you, but, If you finish this job, the account is yours. I Dislike giving up my hiding-holes, but, Honestly, I'm rooting for Wolf. He's the only mercenary in this whole goddamn system who EVER gave a damn about helping the people on Venom. Call it payback for saving my life when I was younger."

Wolf raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Thanks."

* * *

Fox blinked at the table. "There's more steel here than in an Arwing."

"I know." Falco said, drooling. Katt was busy fixing a malfunctioning machine gun. He always had a thing for hardware. The bigger, the badder... the better. And Katt was always soooo handy with... hardware.

"Keep your tongue in cheek, boys." Fara said, grinning. "I may be a fly-girl, but I know my way around a pistol thanks to old man Oxian. Er... McCloud."

"Which old man?" Said Mercy.

The whole room looked at Fox, who turned brilliant red.

"Uhh... Where's Slippy?"

* * *

It had become a comfort.

No, A habit.

Amanda slowly pulled the cloth up Slippy's back. He grinned a bit. He sat in his boxers, her hands caressing his smooth skin. Being a frog, (With the last name of toad,) he was smooth. And immune to her low level hallucinogenic toxins. Poison Arrow Frogs were usually one of two things, whores, or scientists. Amanda was different.

"Slippy?"

He pulled himself from his reverie, and turned around.

She was naked. He blushed, but did not turn away. Her panties were still on, he noted, idly, but his focus stayed on her face.

"Am... I not..."

"Hush. None of that nonsense. You helped me. A lot. When I was in a very dark place. I could call you beautiful on that alone." He stood up, putting a hand behind her back. Yeah, he was big – but he was thickly built in his core. She felt his arms, and blinked, suddenly surprised at just how defined he was. "But you're so much more... You're as intelligent as anyone I know. As brave as all of my allies put together. A tough as nails, and as sharp as a tack. And on top of it all... You're radiant. Gorgeous. Handsome. Delicate and graceful." He leaned in for a kiss, smiling. "I could never call you beautiful... because it fails to do justice to that which you are. My savior." He smiled, and pulled her into a kiss.

She melted. She'd seen him – felt him in ways no one should. But by the gods, Slippy Toad was a hero – and on top of that, He was so nice to her. More than any other man had been. And it wasn't a dream, he didn't feel the effects of her skin. He was smitten with her – And she with him. Her hands flowed over his back, and he purred. Fingers drug down it, and he smiled, as the kiss broke. His hands found purchase on her hips. He picked her up easily, and set her on the counter, dripping water on the floor as he put his lips to her neck. He kissed. She purred. Things were proceeding rather romantically.

His hands held her hips, wrapping her body completely, she was so slight. His muscles rippled as he bent, kissing his way down between her breasts, kissing, licking, nibbling. He put his lips to the side of her breast and the door opened. He blinked, not moving but to instinctually cover her breasts. She helped. They looked at Faye.

"Coitus interruptus, eh?"

"Foreplay interruptus." Amanda said.

"Who cares. Come on, let's go. We're getting ready."

"We'll be done when we're done." Slippy said, glaring at the poodle.

"I said-" Slippy just grabbed her by the pants and shirt, and forcibly removed the poodle from the bathroom, walking to the kitchen with her in his grasp, the shocked poodle indignant but not attacking.

"We'll be done. When we're done. CAPESH?"

"Woah." Falco said, watching the frog walk away, back to the bathroom.

"... Guess I gotta start calling Amanda Miss Toad, eh?" Katt said, snickering.

"Hey hey hey. Not cool." Fox said. "Cut slippy some slack. He doesn't believe in much of anything ephemeral. Love used to be one of them."

He looked at Fara with a small smile. "I figure he deserves this."

* * *

Amanda ran her hands over her scalp as Slippy worked his magic. He was... very talented. It wasn't just natural talent or anything like that, it was just beyond it. He wasn't even doing anything but kissing her, feeling her, rubbing the sides of her thighs, and she was feeling it. She was feeling it burn it's way to her core. His lips found purchase on her nipple, and she arched, her quiet approval all slippy needed. He didn't move to pull himself free of his confines, and she wondered why, but any thought of that vanished. His fingers found purchase in her heat, and she spread for him.

"Oh Goddess... Not so... oh shit..." She said, feeling a heat flush her body, and she flooded. He smiled, and leaned up, kissing her deeply and lovingly.

"Mmm... Your turn, Slippy." She said, stepping down. He softly stopped her, shaking his head. "No, please." He said, frowning at her.

"Slippy. I want you. For you, your brains, your brawn... It won't shock me, whatever you have."

"... Okay..." He sighed, and removed his boxers as tension racked his body. She blinked. He was … small. In both ways. "I haven't taken steroids or anything like that, so just..."

"It's very, VERY nice." She smiled, and dropped to her knees. He blinked as he felt the first lips of a woman anywhere below his neck. "I think it's cute." She said.

He was not a freak of nature, it was just that there was not much there in girth. Lengthwise, it was acceptable indeed. But the girth was just not there. He shuddered as her hand wrapped around a bit of it. "You're... nnh..."

"Shh, shh... just enjoy." She smiled, and licked his nipple, causing him to stumble back as her hand wrapped about him, his quivering body belying his experience. She pushed once, finding that his stomach's girth concealed quite a bit of him. She smiled, and he rolled his eyes back. "Go ahead." She said, and felt his set, completing her trifecta of erotic objects. Her mouth found purchase on his other nipple...

And a geyser erupted in stop motion.

* * *

His teeth gnashed as he growled at the situation. "Bloody fuckin... How do you heroes deal with it?" Wolf asked, holding his boot over the dead mercenary leader's body. "I mean, Honestly... It's just stupidly stupid. How BAD these guys are is just stupidly stupid!"

"Ever heard of the level grind?" Kash asked, blinking at Wolf. "This is like that. Don't ask me why 95% of crooks aren't like you."

"Was I the only GOOD crook in Lylat?" He asked, looking at Krystal.

"Yeah. Pretty much." She said, smirking. "Most criminals are basically, afraid of something deep and dark in their past. Bad child hood, molester daddy or mommy, that priest at the parish, that feral that attacked them... Being alone at night too often, some kind of phobia. They're cowards, usually."

"So what the hell does that make me?"

"That's why you CAN be a hero, Wolf." Ka'shar said. "Heroes can suck it up and soldier on. They don't need an army of idiots in between them and their quarry. They just go out and earn it. A victory earned and all that."

"Okay, this makes no damn sense. These... kids throw their lives away for some fat bastard behind a desk, a glorified hobgoblin business man, and they just... Keep coming! No thought for Tactics, no thought for..." He was at a loss for words.

"Villains is are stupid. Cept the ones in spikes." Ka'shar said.

"... Dude, is everything with you video games?"

"Nah, sometimes it's gay."

Krystal and Wolf just stopped at looked at him.

"... What? I'm gay. Sue me." Ka'shar said.

"You... You don't act it." Wolf's Gaydar had completely failed him.

"I don't advertise. Besides, I've had more girlfriends than boyfriends. I'm very discerning."

Krystal looked around in a satchel, pulling out some spectra, biting into it, and looking dead set at Kash.

"... Reading me, Krys?"

"Yes. Obviously." She said. The images flashed by – Vague images of naked men with feminine bodies – And feminine bodies with male genitals. She blinked. "Ohhhh! You're a fetishist."

"... Hey, That much doesn't need to be said."

"Just keep it tucked when you're around me." Wolf said.

"Don't worry, Wolf. He's more into Fox than you."

Wolf blinked. He looked at Ka'shar. "Okay, Dude, seriously. Tasteless."

"Hey, I like em skinny." Ka'shar shrugged. "I'm smart, doesn't mean I'm not shallow."

"Ahem." They all three looked at a guy in blue combat armor standing in the door. "Sceuse me. Explain this mess?"

"Uhhh..." Wolf said, looking around. "I uh... Mercenary?"

Krystal and Ka'shar shook their heads. "Wolf. Explain AFTER he's dead. He's not a cop."

"How do you know that?" Wolf said, looking at them.

"Because Cops don't ask what's going on." The Blue armored man said, pulling out his side arm, and felt something slide into his skull, before everything went dark, a bright pink mist coating the walls behind him.

"Nice shot." Wolf said to Krystal, who just shrugged. "I've had more experience than you two. Come on. That's Drekesh's Cadre down. The other two are Maloki and who?"

"Ysodre. Bear. She's gonna be a bitch. Malo's just a Hawk. Shouldn't be too much trouble."

"Nnh. Alright. Come on. Ka'shar, pull us up a map, man."

* * *

Fox sat on the balcony again. Fara sat in his lap purring gently. The sun was beginning to set. "Fox..." He looked at her.

"Yes?" His voice was a content purr.

"Did I push it?" She asked, meekness sneaking into her voice.

"No. It was right. Long overdue, maybe."

"I... I just want you to know. I feel like I missed out on something. Like you and I should have met earlier."

He smiled, and shook his head. "Relax. You know as well as I, that things like this get better the longer you have to wait. So, I, for my part in it, am glad for the wait. Let me mature a bit before I met the right girl." He smiled.

"... You're... right. But you're still an ass about it."

"And you're generally a cold bitch. I think it'll be good for me. Apparently, I'm a pussy." he said, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"..."

"... HEY!" Fox said, Blinking. Fara giggled.

* * *

Inside, Katt and Mercy went over the weapons again. Pre-mission jitters. Agent Black was in the living room with Faye, a serious bitch-fest was going on. There was shouting, and Falco was holding the fighting down to a scream, instead of a bar-room brawl. For being an ace pilot and a hot-head, Falco knew how to keep things from getting out of hand.

"Mercy..." Katt said, looking up at the wolf.

"Yes?"

"Uhm... What if there's this guy you like... but you... can't bring yourself to be intimate with him?"

"Uhh... Guys aren't really..." She shuddered a bit. "But, uhm... Look, Intimacy is something that is... well, an evolution of a relationship. You two are far from platonic, but, Intimacy just isn't your style personally. He's... a hard ass mercenary. He doesn't exactly cuddle a lot, I take it?"

"No, no! He's... perfect, really. Cuddles so sweetly. Writes little love poems... even gave me a black rose with a card that said the meanings of every rose color once. He made sure I was okay. Made sure I was taken care of. He... God, It's like he's TOO perfect."

"... No such thing, sugar. He's perfect – but maybe not mister right. Or you just don't know he is. … Or it could be the egg thing."

"... I'm thinking it's the egg thing. I mean... Can it even happen like that for us?"

"Eh... Dunno."

"Well." Katt said. "Doesn't matter anyway. Come on. Let's get this stuff together."

"DAMN YOU JOE! You know as well as I how stressful this job gets!" Faye Roared at the older wolf.

"You're the one trolling around like a skank – I gave up my family, Hell, I gave up my goddaughter to you! And you put her in deep with the Polawskis! You're damn lucky she isn't a mindless hole in the head mindfucked zombie hooker from Zoness at this point!"

"You know as well as I do, I conditioned her!"

"Yeah, With sadism and masochism!"

"It works!"

"NOT ON MY KIN!" Joe roared. He shook his head. "Look, this isn't productive. We have a massive assault to plan on his damn base. This place is supposed to be massive enough to hold the Great Fox. And a 'Creature creation center' as you put it."

"I don't even have intell on the base's interior. Mercy just got transferred in four days ago, She didn't have time to map it out – All we know, the place was an underground bunker. Warehouses across three cities have entryways, and we don't know jack else about it! We're going in blind here Joe."

"Blind or not, we have to stop this war before it starts!" Joeseph said. "This is just... What're we doing here, Faye? We're waging a secret war against a criminal mafia who, in the past three months, has gained more power than any other we've ever seen. I was there in the shit on a bunch of bad ops, but this one just plain smells like shit."

"I know. Cor-fed has no respect for us at all, either. We're faceless warriors to them."

"Yeah. Look, Let's figure out a way to gather some more intell."

"I've been on it for a day now. With Star Fox here, and the Racer Triplets, we might have something."

"Good. I have an old friend to chat with."

* * *

James Tiber Oxian, AKA, James Tiberius McCloud stood in the doorway looking at Joeseph Wolf O'Donnell. "J.W."

"J.T."

"Well? If we're gonna talk..."

"You fucking cost me my pack." J.W. Said, bitterly.

"And you cost me my innocence."

J.W snorted. "Innocence. In-no-cence! The only thing it's good for is bait." he looked away bitterly. "It's not like I intended for this to happen. You were supposed to be Wolf's Godfather. He was supposed to learn from you the lessons I could never teach."

"He brutally mauled a boy on my advice."

"Because you never learned what I was! J.T, I told you, We're WOLVES. Passion and Instinct are our alpha and omega. … Tell me, do you know the Legend of the First Pack?"

"No, J.W. I don't."

"Ha... Most outsiders look at us, and see the male, strong and fierce, head of the family... But in truth, every one of us is second fiddle to one person. Just like the legend says..." J.W. quaked with anger.

J.T. Raised his eyebrow.

"The Wife. The Almighty, food cooking, skillet brandishing firebrand wife who we all know could kill us with a blink – or her cooking. The red raging ranger from hell for one week a month, and then, twenty one days of the goddess of the cloth, the wise woman of the world, our final destination. The unique moment of oneness and pure and utter love both fail miserably in the face of one specific thing."

J.W. Smirked as he finished his introduction to the story. "Without a woman... a wolf is just a dog to be put down. Family is everything to us. And Pack is the epitome of that family. J.T. I am less than a man now. My son has my pack. And his woman is where my woman once was."

"... Old pussy." J.T. Said with a smirk. "Letting a woman whoop you like that..."

"The O'Donnell line is descended from Elenar. We have a history of letting women walk all over us."

* * *

"So, Wolf... You never told me..." Krystal said over a private com-link. "Why me, anyway? I mean, we haven't had any... you know. You're sweet and all, but... You're intent on this. You promised to everything but marry me."

"Actually... That's a Wolf's Wedding vow. It's the same vow Elenar Frostrake took to Mutt. She was pure-blood gray, believe it or not." he smiled, and shook his head. "You don't know much about Pack, do you?"

He said Pack as if it were … a verb? A noun? An adjective? Adverb? Didn't matter, it came across with the weight of a black hole. "No, I don't, honestly."

"Pack is more than family and friends. It's the Be-all-end-all to my existence. My two years as a lone wolf... Krys, It made me realize. I needed a sassy Firebrand in my life. And not just any one. I needed someone unique. Someone with something that made her different."

"And that's me?" A Confused Krystal asked as they followed Ka'shar through the space station.

"I don't mean it in a bad way. A secret about the Wolf Psyche. Any wolf that's queer has had a trauma in his life. Abusive girlfriends usually end up the main culprit." Wolf shook his head. "Go ahead and ask."

"... Abusive?"

"Yeah. Women are our world. A wolf lives for a woman. Because she is his pack. More than his kids, guns, friends, or job, A woman is our pack." He smiled at her. "Basically... I fell in love the first time I met you in my soul. You are everything my head, my heart... and honestly, my dick, have ever craved, desired, or wanted."

"... Huh."

Ka'shar came flying back from a doorway. "GYAHHH! OOF!" he collided with the wall, and grunted as he got up slowly. "Holy shit. What in the..."

"Attention: Intruders into Malokai Industrial Merchant Marines LLC Barracks will be killed. This is your last warning." The hostile mechanical voice intoned, lowering a particle cannon mounted on it's massive combat chassis to aim at Ka'shar.

"Kash?"

"What..."

"Stop pissing yourself and fucking RUN!" Wolf said, bringing out his assault rifle, and pulling the trigger, round after round slamming into the mech. It's shields glowed a blueish orangey color as it leveled it's grenade launcher arm.

"WOLF!" Krys shouted as he dived to the side, her suit's power conduits feeding spectra right into her veins with ivs, the sheer burst of power letting her throw up a barrier of telekinetic force, the grenade dumb-firing right into it, unable to detonate due to poor launch distance.

"The hell do we do here, Wolf?"

"I don't know." he crouched at the side of the door, assault rifle held tight. He peeked around the corner and heard more than saw, a chain gun whirring up. It began to hammer the edges of the bulkhead as he curled back around, mostly protected. Ka'shar was counting to himself.

"Stop panicking, Kash!" Wolf grabbed his co-worker, who smirked. "Counting it's firing time. Everyone, get ready."

He reached ten, and said "NOW!" They each peeked out, weapons at the ready. The hail of bullets quickly sliced through the shields, but it's armor held fast. Wolf dashed inside as the Mech's grenade whirred up, the dull 'THUNK!' of it's launch causing Krystal and Kash to duck away, the explosion ripping into their shields. Wolf quickly holstered the AR, pulling out his pistols. He leveled them at the mech, popping off rounds at it, 'kaBLAM! KaBLAM! KaBLAM!' Each round rocked it's chassis, it rocked back a bit, but continued to aim at him. He jumped over a solid metal crate, and ducked down. "The hell... Who keeps metal cra..." It read 'porno' on the side. He sighed. "I can almost understand that."

Ka'shar toyed with his wrist computer, and dodged out, his armor opening a wrist plate, and charging a small metal projectile, draining his suit's power a bit, but firing a molten hot metal rod at the mech, sparks flying off as it engulfed the creature's armor in flames. "Son of a Sweet hot!" He said, scrambling for cover, managing to take shelter in a bathroom as a grenade bounced off the doorway. "You gotta be shitting me!" he said, catching his breath.

Krystal, however, knew what she was doing. Her armor glowed bright blue as she turned out from the hallway, the grenade exploding harmlessly as she merely strode through the smoke, her body shimmering in telekinetic light. She pushed both her hands out, and squeezed. Th remains of the mech's armor crumpled as she lifted her arms up, and with a fierce roar, slammed them back down. The mech followed suit, lifting high into the air, flipping over, and smashing the ground with a circuit frying smash. It snapped, crackled, and popped... then fell over, unable to function in the slightest capacity.

"... Damn, Krys."

She sat back, eyes sparkling with power as she looked across the room. "Woah... power trip..."

Ka'shar shook his head, kicking his way out of the bathroom. "Damn. Looks like you really got him good."

"Yeah, I guess." Krystal rubbed her temples. Wolf's display showed her Spectra reserves were exhausted now, but he could see it growing very slowly. Ka'shar was down to half his suit's power. Wolf's own suit showed no damage at all.

Two doors whirred open, and men came pouring out. "GO GO GO!" One shouted as Wolf pulled Krystal up, activating his suit's burst circuit, and tossed her into cover, diving in behind her, as Ka'shar's shield lit up with pings of light as it slowed the bullets. He managed to scramble for cover and hissed.

"Got my armor, guys. Shields are down, diverting power."

"Don't Kash. Shield will recharge automatically. Just stay in cover." He checked on Krys, who was basically out of commission. His power gauge barely registered the hit. He nodded.

"Wolf... You look like you're pla-"

"I don't plan." He said as he jumped over the Crate, and felt his instincts kick in. Time slowed to an utter crawl.

_First guy, up high on the left. Pistol shot – Right between the eyes. Bullets incoming, Roll left – Cover by the crate. Peek out, Take out the goober with the wrist computer – Two shots, high and tight in the chest. Armor and shield penetration, still alive. Rush him! Right hand under the jaw, left on the back of the head. Quick twist as hard as you can! Harder. Nice snap, bison is down. Leap the cover, pull your AR. Quick burst to your left – Ohhh! Jugular spray. Activate suit power. Rifle butt to the head – Shattered the face plate. Dead. DUCK RIGHT! Close, roll forward, Flash-bang behind. Ignore the ringing, leap the barrier. Drop low, right palm to nose – Face plate broken off, helmet bent. Disabled and or dead. Power low, Spinning right jump kick! Crushed armor plate, no chance of survival. Roll into cover! Pistols at the ready. On top of the box – Two targets left._

'KaBLAM-AM!' - The two shots ripped through the hard suit's throats simultaneously. They both dropped with a wet gurgle and a throat grasping motion. Wolf let out his breath.

"... Holy shit." Ka'shar said – The smoke from the flash bang hadn't even dissipated.

And then Wolf went flying. "KUHHHH!" A Falcon in armor stood before Ka'shar in a moment, his hand lashing out in a massive haymaker. Kash jerked his head to the side, and scrambled.

"Here, Kitty kitty."

"Ain't your kitty." He said, grinning wickedly, turning and getting up as his shields flashed green. His Minigun quickly appeared in his paws as he grinned like a madman. The bird blinked behind his face mask as the barrels didn't even bother to spin up before unleashing an absolute wall of lead.

The bird managed to get to cover behind a metal bookcase. Wolf groaned, holding his stomach. "Shit!" he said, coughing up blood. The bird had a light-belt. "Kash! Light-belt!" He said.

And Kash quickly realized why Wolf had gotten hit so hard. He felt the kick hit his guts, and up he went, a steel cross beam bending as his shields failed and his armor deformed. "GYAH!" He said, falling down to the ground in a heap. He groaned, feeling his ribs through the armor fruitlessly. He could tell they were snapped.

Krystal stood at this point, eyes glimmering with power still. The bird turned, his belt activating again – Her Telepathy showed her exactly what would happen however, as she raised a rock solid barrier between the two of them. The bird's leg smashed into it, and he howled as blood and bone erupted from the strike, the reverberations ripping his leg up to his hip, ripping it off, blood splattering the walls as bone shards penetrated metal before disintegrating in the friction of air.

"Dumbass." She said. "Kicking an immovable wall at light speed." Her telepathy quickly subsided, her spectra supply exhausted.

"Bitch." Malokai said, raising his shotgun in one hand, and pulling the trigger, the explosive shells sending Krystal flying back over her cover, and landing in an unconscious heap on the other side of the room.

His right arm twisted, and put the shot gun to his head. He ended what was left of his life as a paraplegic with a final explosive round, his head evaporating into red mist. 'At least I killed th-' were his last thoughts.

* * *

They had all geared up, and mounted up in a plain black van – With two inches of armor on every surface. Fox looked across at Fara, who was busy gossiping to Amanda. Slippy tapped his shoulder. "Fox... About..."

"Slip, don't worry bro." He said, attempting to avoid awkwardness.

"No. I mean... Is there a way to er..."

"What? Spit it out, Slip!" Falco said.

"Uhm... Well... Grow?"

"... You're plenty tall, Slip." Fox said.

"And you don't need to be rounder. You're already gaining a minor orbit." Falco said, snickering.

Slippy shook his head. "Nevermind guys. I figured you guys didn't even get it... Oh well. So, We're going back in?"

"Goddess I hope not." Katt said from opposite Falco. "I mean... I've had enough creepy monster thingies to last ten lifetimes."

"Or nine, in your case." J.W. Said. J.T. Snickered. "Good one, Pooch."

"Shaddap, chicken kicker." The Surly wolf responded to the jibe. "Look guys, we need to go back in. We gotta find out what Leon is up to."

"We won't be able to, He's probably already wiped the base clean." Falco said. "I know how the Polawskis work."

"And how do you know more than Lisa, Bird brains?" Mercy said from the front seat.

"You didn't know? Leon has a special thing for me. Two, In fact. His knife, and his wank. Bastard's been wanting to sodomize me since I turned him down on the street for it. Made him look a total fool in front of his crew before Wolf's too. Managed to mess him up bad."

"Huh. So, what's he done with it?"

"When we go in, we'll find it abandoned. About halfway through, the traps will activate. He's gonna spew some nonsensical bullshit about him being the more intelligent, and bada bing, bada boom, There's that. We're stuck in a sadistic mad man's trap."

"Eh... Hold on, News update on Polawski." Faye said from the front seat, pulling by a jumbo-tron.

"GODDESS YE GOOD EVE! My name is Leon Polawski – This is my ultimatum to the Lylat system! You will surrender unto me as your god and lord of all, or you will be purged from the universe, one man at a time! Oh, but wait! I am just one humble madman, how could I do this?" His voice was light and cheery – and then It turned sinister.

"Simple, you fucking imbeciles. This is my army – Andross called them Simarlians – Your government called them abominations... I call them the natural evolution of our kind. Transcendent as they are, only the pure-bloods know their power fully! And this is my army. Pure and pristine." The camera panned – Thousands of Similarians stood in rows below his standing place, each grasping a kultchinkov. "But wait, Similarians are supposed to be hairless clone soldiers, aren't they? Then let me introduce you to my recent creations – The 'Forbidden fruit' of Titania, Saturn, and countless other worlds of Krazoan origin, THESE... THESE ARE THE FORBIDDEN ONES! The First-breed, Taken as my trophies!"

Before the Camera stood images of ancient gods, goddess, and heroes of Lylat. Each one, twisted by his serum, but oozing with power. "Behold them, the Generals of my army, and RIGHTFUL RULERS OF LYLAT! Panteria, The queen of science! Claw, the Traitor Wolf! Einhander, The hound of Baskeria! And last but not least..."

The camera turned to a living Krazoa. "My own personal advisor, the king of the underworld... The Krazoan Overlord, Ikuna!"

* * *

The team felt a deep, primal fear well up within them.

J.W. Was the first to speak. "... Oh shit."

"That's... a Krazoa?" Fox said, "We're in for a deep one guys."

"No shit."

"Guys? Is that a Ro- Shit!" Faye made the van dive ground level. It nearly crashed as she jerked up on the cyclic stick, the van sputtering – It wasn't made to handle that kind of maneuver. The Jumbo-tron exploded in a shower of sparks, blinding drivers for nearly half a click. "Shit! BAIL OUT! GO GO GOOOO!"

It wasn't just one voice that shouted it. Ammo was grabbed. Weapons, everything. The van was scrubbed it was so effective. Slippy even managed to grab a bubble gum wrapper. They all dashed for the base of a tall, sky scraping building. The three mercenaries and four spies looked at each other, panting. The Racer chicks just blinked. "The fuck just happened shug?" Katt said, stunned.

"Leon declared war. At least on Venom." Fox said, pulling out his AR. He turned to look up the street. Doors poured open, Civvies flooding the streets.

"Is that building gonna fall?" Amanda asked, examining the smoldering remains of the huge skyscraper's jumbo-tron.

"No. Looks like the Jumbo-tron was designed to fall off." Slippy answered, and motioned to to his group. "We'll take Northwest. Looks like there's a good vantage point there. Falco's a sharp eye with that sniper rifle."

"Damn straight." Falco said. Fox peeked out. "J.W.? J.T.?"

"We'll take the girls up this one." J.T. Answered. J.W. just nodded with disgust. "Babysitting, eh?"

"We got a helluva lot to make up for." They all looked at Faye.

"Ah fuck. Mean's we're on wet-work?" Mercy said. She looked at Faye. "You know, You're going to get everything killed, right? Faye doesn't do so well with blood..."

"Who gives a shit?" Said J.W. "Teams ain't even..."

"Doesn't matter."

"Dragula time." Faye grinned. And off she dashed.

Gunfire erupted around them, and they dashed. The teams split as quickly as they could. And not a moment too soon. A rocket screamed in behind the Racer's group, blasting the cement around them. "Shhhiiit!" J.W. Said, flying forward in a heap. He rolled beside the girls, and groaned.

"Shit. You okay old man?" Katt said, lifting him up.

"Yeah. Fine."

* * *

Fox quickly ducked behind a mail-box, grunting as cement sprayed around him. The whole square was a slaughter house. Civies were dropping like bricks. "Fuck me. Slippy, Eyes on?"

"Negs, Fox. Keep running! Tenth of a klick! GO GO GO!"

They rushed, Falco scanning the skyline for muzzle flash – the sun blurred it all. Lylus was shining all too brightly on their position. He Dashed, his feet carrying him past Slippy and Fox in half of a moment. "MOVE, CIVIES!" He shouted, heading for the entrance.

"How are we gonna make it up?" Fox said, Putting two rounds into the base of a window, shattering it. He pushed through, Falco and Slippy helping him form a wall – The gun pointed at face level also helped clear their path.

"Service elevator! There! I'll hack it!"

"Do we have time, Slip?" Falco said, checking his watch. Five minutes already. This was taking way too long.

"Come on! Hurry!"

* * *

"YEAHHHHH!" Faye screamed, kicking and punching her way through the crowd. She was already covered in blood. "Come on, Mercy!"

"Sometimes, I wonder if that's what I am..." She muttered. She stepped over stumbling civilians. "Shit..." She quickly dodged one and ducked in the door, pushing Faye through. "No time to play, lover..."

"Of course. Mission first. Bloody fucking fun later."

"Goddess I hope you're not serious this time." Mercy hoped aloud against hope.

They entered the stairwell, and triggered their wrist mounted grappling cables. They fired them up, grunting as it pulled them up thirty foot at a time. It wound back in less than five seconds. "Shit. Model 3s are so slow..."

"You wanna shell for the nano-tech in model 4s?" Mercy, always Faye's sole voice of reason, intoned.

"Have to win a shell game for that kind of money." They Hoped over the railing, and fired again. "Ten times in a row."

"If you gamble away my money again, I'll kick your ass!" Mercy howled.

* * *

"Alright. Should be safe in here." J.T. Said.

"We're in a FUCKING BROOM CLOSET!" Fara said.

J.W. Smirked, and moved back from the door, cocking back his left paw and spreading his fingers. The door opened with a slam, but the lizard didn't even have a chance to fire. With an elegance that defied his age, the wizened wolf plunged his claws through the body armor, grasping the foe's throat. There was a brutal crunch. J.T. Leveled his blaster at it's face, plastering the opposing wall with blood.

"tch." The blood soaked J.W. clicked. "You know we have to hide again, right?"

"Like your way was any better. They'd have seen the blood on the carpet."

"Yeah. But that's bait. Not plain and simple 'Oh hey, someone's brains be on the walls, dhurrrr! Oh hey guys, I'll get mah team and open da durrrrs! Ghuyck!" J.W. Caught a plethora of stares for his 'doper dog' impersonation.

"... J.W?"

"Shut the hell up and find us another hiding spot J.T." The old wolf pouted.

"I'm just surprised you quoted that episode word for word."

"Withershins, ya dick!" He punted J.T. Out the door with a huff, and slammed the closet.

"Withershins?" The old fox scratched and ear with a worried expression, then shrugged, shot a lizard lining up a shot between the eyes, and dashed off.

"Old kill stealing bastard!" he heard from the door. He snickered.

* * *

"Fox, You sure this is safe?" Falco asked, listening to the dour mood music in the elevator.

"Is anything we do ever safe, Falco?" Fox shot back with a smirk.

"Fixing the – no, wait, uhm... Eating dinner?" Slippy interjected.

"No, slip. Third year, forty-seventh day." Fox replied.

"No, No, no, We're not bringing up the 'Katt made peppy choke on a toberone' incident." Falco responded, looking testy, and a bit like he was trying to avoid the REAL event.

"No, this is the 'Falco was eating corn and broke his beak' incident." Fox said. He chuckled.

"You mean the one where his beak broke cause he bit too hard on the core, shot it half way across the room, into the microwave while it was on, breaking it, causing a lightning bolt to shoot me half way to the door?" Slippy said, blinking.

"The very same, Slip."

"Katt is NEVER going to hear about that, right, Foxie? Not even cool that she's all the hell over you!"

"Hey hey hey. She's harmlessly flirting."

"And you're lucky she is!" Falco said as the doors opened, a pair of lizards aiming up to fire, his head-shot blowing one's brains into the next's crotch, and blowing the latter's crotch clean away. "Otherwise, I'd shoot your balls off!"

Fox and Slippy both went pale, looking at the lizard with no crotch realize his nuts had just been vaporized before he died. "... shit." they said simultaneously.

"JINX!" Slippy shouted! Fox growled, pulled out his wallet, and gave Slippy five dollars. "You dirty sonofabitch." Slippy said, and Fox's ears wilted, another five appearing. "Thank you. Least now I don't have to drink off brand soda."

"asshole..." Fox muttered, peeking out of the door. "Now, let's get danger-"

"Say it, and I kick you in the shins." Their resident bird said. "Professional, if you please boys."

"You sound like my mom." Slippy said, kicking open a door across the hall, leveling his shotgun at a pair of cowering beavers. "Elevator works. Go!"

The two taller team members stepped out of the metal box, and proceed, three-points-covered style down the hall, Slippy breaching each door they came to. After the third, They changed formation.

Slippy kicked the door in, leveling his shotgun, and blowing a lizard in half, it's torso perforated and mauled as Fox jumped in with a diving roll, coming up in a crouch, his assault rifle blasting it's way through an armored bear's skull plate, killing him instantly. Falco's sniper rifle roared to life, spearing a snake through both sets of it's eyes – infrared and visual. It died instantly. Falco began to kick through t he condo level's rooms, while Slippy and Fox quickly breached each room from the outside.

* * *

Faye slipped around the corner, her claws coming up in an uppercut slash, catching the lizard under an armor plate, piercing him. She pushed in, twisted, and shoved her hand up, grabbing his throat from the inside. Having razor sharp claws had it's advantages. She held the dying man up, pulling her smg up one handed, shoving it under his arm, and aiming at his buddies, using him as a shield. Most women couldn't do that. Then again, Faye wasn't a woman. She was a red eyed murder machine. She pulled out her hand and grabbed her bowie knife. Her right foot raised up, kicking the gutless bastards off her arms. She lashed forward with her knife, stabbing a guy through the face. Blood splashed.

"... OH FUCK!" Mercy shouted, diving through a hailstorm of bullets for the vent, and hiding.

Faye stood there, then looked up. She was -PISSED-!

For some reason, the bad guys all stopped, and looked at the blood soaked bitch before them. "The fu-GAH!" His throat exploded in blood as his head went flying. Faye spun over, and kicked it, sending the head flying into his buddy, bullets spraying as his nose broke and his head went back, killing a number of his buddies as the insane little poodle from hell went berserk.

She jumped up in the air, her smg spitting fire, lead, and, most importantly, death. She kicked off a poor man, her bowie knife shining in the light, blood splattering as she dove THROUGH a guy, claws and knife cutting him in half. She landed, slipping on blood, her knife flashing through a guy's knees. She twisted, her foot rocketing into his jaw. His body went flying up, as she did a back flip, her gun firing off as she twisted around, killing men willie nillie. Her bullets ripping through their heads, and other heads. She was lethally accurate. "KREEEEH!" She heard, a guy with a -BIG. FUCKING. AXE.- Appearing behind her. Suddenly, the bloodlust on her face, it was replaced with a look of 'oh shit' fear.

He brought the side of the ax around, smashing her in the ribs. She balled up, managing to not die when she went through the wall.

Mercy stepped out. "Oy! Dicksuck!"

The big ass lizard looked at her, hissing. "Shut it, cunt!"

"No one messes with my girl." She said, pulling out a pistol. The beast just roared at her, rushing. She side stepped his rush, her gun firing off, putting a round through his knee cap. He just looked at her as he swung at her, the blade coming for her midsection. She smirked, doing a back bend, avoiding the blow, spinning, and sliding in the blood backwards, pulling out a second pistol, firing round after round from the high powered pistols at him, sending her sliding back further in the blood, until she hit bodies. He just kept coming. She lifted up on one hand, landing on a body, sliding backwards as she shot her guns at him, he just kept bull rushing her, his ax swinging wildly, smashing through the wall.

"Come on baby..." She said, posing a bit for him. "can't you touch me? Ohhh, Just right..." He roared, blood flecked spittle coming from his mouth as he charged up the hall, His body taking it up. She just turned, running at the wall – And then just going up it. He smashed his head through it as she flipped over him. She landed on his back, her pistols aimed at his head. "Oh baby, you're so damn ROUGH! I LOVE IT!" And she pulled the trigger – not just once. Five times, splattering his brains on the inside of the wall. She slid down his back with a grin, and Faye peeked out.

"DAMNIT!" She shouted, having been fighting mad at that stupid lizard that hit her.

"What? I can't have fun too?"

"... Bah." She said, walking down the hall. "Anyway, Fox's boys are probably doing it slow and easy. The whole 'military' way."

Faye, of course, did not know that Falco, Fox, and Slippy had climbed the tower with military trained boogies.

* * *

They smirked, from behind their riot wall.

Falco kicked open the door near Slippy and Fox, who had promptly shat bricks upon seeing that wall of plastic and chabum. "Oh. Shit. Guys, that's a bit more organized than most mercs."

"That's military."

A man in an ancient Venomian Captain's uniform stepped along the line, and stood solidly in front of them. "I see you can identify a Phalanx."

"I see you're Old guard." Fox said. "What's your name, Captain?"

"Captain Tokugawa."

"Little unoriginal isn't it?" Fox said.

"Doesn't matter. The dead don't remember." The monkey said.

"I think Hashiba would suit you better." Fox said, keeping up the banter while he planned.

"As a favor to all those I kill, I like to play a Funeral Dirge." He said. By now, Falco, Fox, and Slippy had all come up with three different plans.

"Guys, Any Requests?" Fox said, smirking to his buddies, Signaling he had a plan. His eyebrow dropped down when he saw Slippy's look.

Slippy wore an 'at peace' expression – which meant he felt he was in control. To Slippy, this meant it was time to either play chess with words – Or enact some elaborate plan that left people shitting bricks from the sheer suicidal genius the frog possessed. "I'll take anything that's ROCK." And that was his completely backwards subtle hint.

Fox Looked over at Falco, who lit a cigarette up. Falco's method of telling his team HE had a plan. And he didn't follow anyone else's when he had one. "Really guys? Why not Johnny Cash? Folsom Prison Blues."

"... Shit, Really guys?" Fox said, pulling out his gun, and putting a bullet right through the General's skull. The monkey fell. "I figured that one was obvious." The Shock of seeing the general fall had distracted the enemy unit from the grenade he had tossed before he had shot.

"Really really." Slippy said, firing a lazer shot from his shotgun, burning through the penthouse's chandelier's chain, dropping it on the center of the line.

Falco didn't bother with witty banter. He just chucked a Grenade into the air over the enemy line, spun, lining up his shot, and shooting it in mid air. It exploded, raining fire on the enemy line. And then they split, guns coming up, and aiming at them. Fox dived back into the hall, Slippy scooted towards the enemy line using a table as a guardian. Falco, of course, ducked back in his room. "Hey! Fox! What's slippy doing?"

"Sector X?"

"I HATE IT WHEN HE DOES THIS!" Falco shouted, shooting a hole through the wall, the blast site letting him shove his gun through the wall, sight and all, and aim. He started giving the frog covering fire.

Slippy Bulled his way into the shield wall with his table. They disrespected him for his terrible flying – But they couldn't do anything but respect his ground prowess. He pushed on the wall, and it began to give.

"PUSH BACK! Bowl him over! Stupid frog!" He heard from behind the line. Fox and Falco dropped guys who aimed at him.

"Come on..." he said, and grinned, feeling them ready up to push. He pressed his belt. Time and gravity nearly stopped for him. The table rocketed forward, splattering the middle of the line as he pulled out his shotgun, one step ahead was all it took. He turned, firing his gun at the remaining men of the line, the bullets shredding them, while he dropped the gun – It began to fall in slow motion. He punched the man on his other side, ribs shattering, armor chunks becoming lethal shrapnel.

The Blue blur of the frog just erupted in blood and death. Slippy suddenly started walking away as the events unfolded, Carrying a shotgun with a smirk as the entire line behind him erupted into blood and death. Men were crushed, bodies were shredded, and men just collapsed into boneless goo.

"... I think you like light-belts, Slip."

"Traveling at light speed on the ground is nice." He said to Fox, tossing him a dog tag. "Cor-fed soldiers. Looks like they're turncoats. I think The Lizard has an inside source."

"I agree." Fox said, then blinked. "Where's Falco?"

* * *

He felt the bat smash across his face again, his beak cracked. He spun back, and caught himself with his hand. "ptuh..." he spat blood out, feeling it roll out of his jaw. "Nice moves." He began to dance a bit, the sneaky little lizard lining up another hit. He rolled under it, then brought his back leg up, and threw a right cross, spinning the lizard back. He continued his capera, dancing closer. The lizard attacked, but he just blocked it, spinning under another strike, and attacking with a right handed uppercut.

The lizard took two steps back, shaking his head. "Jackass." he said simply, And rushed Falco again. The bird danced back, jumping over his low strike. He swung high, aiming at that vulnerable beak again, but felt a boot in his guts. It hit harder than he expected, and bile rushed up his throat. But Falco wasn't done. The Lizard gasped as a pistol was drawn, and his head was unceremoniously exploded. His eye managed to blink as it got a final image of his body, a smoking crater in his neck where his skull used to be.

Fox and slippy showed up to see Falco rubbing his broken beak with a wince. "Shit. That always looks so damn gross." Fox said. He'd seen Falco with a broken beak before.

"Yeah. You don't have to eat mush for a month every time someone breaks your schnoz." Falco said. "Damn little asshole..."

"Here, Falco! Some supplies I picked up from the pile earlier. Supposed to be healing nannites. Real high tech, very pirateable."

"Fuck, Where do they get those things?"

"Venomian design." Slippy said, straightening the bird beak with a crack, and smearing the nannites across the wound as Falco wound up to punch him.

"Calm down, Falco." Fox said, watching the nannites work. "These things do it all, or what?"

"Kind of like Bio-foam. They're nonbiodegradeable though, so they don't do 'interior' work, just exterior. Can't regenerate limbs or anything. At least, these are. There's better versions, but, Spy Paycheck."

"Oh. So Faye's cheap bitch on top of batshit insane?" Falco said.

"Yep." Slippy responded.


End file.
